Future of Work

Fewer vacancies show the labour market is softening but firms are still reporting difficulties finding skilled staff and the large number of inactive workers is concerning.

Workforce issues were the focus of the BCC’s second Business Council meeting, attended by Work & Pensions Sec Mel Stride & Shadow DWP Sec Liz Kendall

While there may be fewer vacancies, we still have a major shortage of skills across our economy. This is holding back productivity and growth.

To grow the economy, we must tap into the huge pool of people who want to work but need additional help and support to find suitable jobs.

There are clear signs of a cooling off in the labour market, with vacancies continuing to trend downwards and unemployment remaining static.

It’s disappointing to see the number of economically inactive again ticking up, reversing recent trends. Employers need substantial flows of people back into job seeking and employment.