Wages are being driven up by a lack of skilled workers in the UK today, according to a new report.
Almost a third of recruiting agencies have said that starting salaries are increasing, says KPMG and the Recruitment and Employment Confederation (REC).
Wage growth is strongest in the Midlands and the south of England, where the availability of suitable candidates for jobs continues to fall.
Skills shortages are a particular problem in nursing, health care and teaching.
The chief executive of REC, Kevin Green, said that almost one in three recruiters is reporting an increase in starting salaries compared with last month. There has also been a rise in the number of people successfully finding work via a recruiting agency. In the north west of England, 45 per cent of recruiting agencies surveyed by KPMG and REC said that there had been a sharp increase in the number of permanent staff appointments made.
People are feeling more confident about finding work and also about changing jobs, as they seek higher salaries. Higher salaries are being offered because of a widespread shortage of skills. Kevin Green warned that businesses will have to work hard to retain their skilled staff in the future.
Shortages are being most keenly felt in the public sector, with teachers, nurses and other health care workers in particularly short supply, for both temporary and permanent positions.
Mr Green added that politicians are debating immigration and education in the run up to the election and need to be aware that the current skills shortage is likely to have a significant impact upon the UK’s economic growth.
Bernard Brown of KPMG said that demand for talent continues to outstrip the number of candidates seeking employment and that this skills shortage is likely to slow down UK economic growth if it is allowed to continue at its current rate.
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