Economy
Recruitment crisis continues quarter of the year, with employers expanding their search for skilled workers. Sean Rose, head of policy at the Coventry and Warwickshire Chamber of Commerce, said: “The rate of unemployment hasn’t hit the heights that many were expecting and it is now virtually at pre-pandemic levels, which is positive news for the economy.
British Chambers of Commerce Head of Economics Suren Thiru
The Coventry and Warwickshire Chamber of Commerce says companies are struggling to recruit after vacancies hit a national high. The latest figures from the Office for National Statistics show that unemployment across the country dropped to 4.1 per cent between October and December, leaving it just a fraction higher than when Covid-19 first struck. A new national record of 1.3 million job vacancies was set in the final
“However, we are seeing firms struggling to recruit the people they need to be able to grow their business. “At a time of rising costs and supply chain headaches, businesses are being hit by a range of issues at a time when they want to focus their energies on growing and ensuring we build a sustainable economic recovery from the crisis of the past two years.” British Chambers of Commerce Head of Economics Suren Thiru said: “The increase in payroll employment in January suggests that Omicron had little effect on the UK labour market as demand for workers remained robust.
“While it is encouraging that payroll employment is rising and unemployment continues to fall, the strong headline figures mask significant underlying challenges. “Record vacancies underscores the critical hiring crisis facing firms. With high economic inactivity indicating that many people have left the jobs market altogether, chronic staff shortages are likely to weigh on the UK economy for a sustained period. “With regular pay growth slowing, inflation is comfortably outpacing wages, weakening household finances further. Despite recruitment difficulties, the damage being done to business cashflow from a myriad of cost
pressures are limiting the extent to which wages can rise. “While Omicron is having little impact on employment, the squeeze on firms’ finances from high inflation, soaring energy bills and the looming national insurance hike is likely to weaken job creation and further restrain pay growth in the coming months. “The government must do more to help people access rapid retraining opportunities for in-demand jobs, including helping older workers to pivot to more sustainable jobs. Delaying the looming National Insurance rise would give firms the financial headroom to retain and recruit people.”
“At a time of rising costs and supply chain headaches, businesses are being hit by a range of issues at a time when they want to focus their energies on growing and ensuring we build a sustainable economic recovery from the crisis of the past two years.”
Don’t pass the burden of Covid to business, Government warned Business leaders in Coventry and Warwickshire say firms across the region are eager for a return to ‘normal trading conditions’ but don’t want the burden of managing Covid-19 passed to them. Prime Minister Boris Johnson has unveiled the Government’s ‘Living with Covid’ plan that includes removing the legal requirement to self-isolate following a positive test from February 24 and other measures such as removing the legal obligation for individuals to tell their employers when they are required to self-isolate. The new plan also sees the end of free universal symptomatic and asymptomatic testing for the general public from April 1. Sean Rose, head of policy at the Coventry and Warwickshire Chamber of Commerce, said: “Companies across Coventry and Warwickshire are eager to go back to pre-Covid trading conditions and have been for the past two years. “This has been an incredibly difficult couple of years and firms want to be able to push on for growth. “However, it’s clear that Covid hasn’t gone away and the burden shouldn’t now fall on businesses to manage the virus moving forward and it is, therefore, vital that Government works with business to shape new guidance.”
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British Chambers of Commerce Co-Executive Director, Claire Walker, said: “Businesses will welcome the ambition of the Prime Minister, which inches us closer to pre-pandemic trading conditions. However, for many firms, this move will not be without its challenges and Government must not pass public health decisions on to the business community, who are not public health experts. “Members continue to tell us that access to free testing is key to managing workplace sickness and maintaining consumer confidence. If the government is to remove this, companies must still be able to access tests on a cost-effective basis. “We look forward to consulting with Government to help shape the new guidance for businesses that will be developed. It is critical that a variety
of issues and scenarios be fully addressed by this. Businesses need clarity if they are to operate at maximum capacity, as well as keep consumers and employee’s confidence high. “Businesses also need to understand how Government will respond to further variants of concern – or indeed a future pandemic – and what support would be put in place if new guidance or mandatory restrictions are introduced that have a negative impact on the economy. “Firms will only truly be able to ‘Live with Covid’ when they are confident that a plan is in place for future outbreaks. Uncertainty will put a brake on investment and the shadow of the pandemic could continue to loom over our economy for some time to come.”
“Businesses will welcome the ambition of the Prime Minister, which inches us closer to pre-pandemic trading conditions. However, for many firms, this move will not be without its challenges and Government must not pass public health decisions on to the business community, who are not public health experts." www.cw-chamber.co.uk
