Decline in EU migrants shocks employers in UK

Employers in the UK are facing an acute shortage of suitable, skilled, and eligible workers to fill the vacancies, according to a survey of 2001 companies.

This is mainly due to the decline in the number of migrants from the European Union (EU) countries and tightening the labour market.

According to the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development's (CIPD) latest report, the number of job aspirants per vacancy has fallen since last summer across all categories of skilled jobs, and the report said the decrease in the number of suitable workers were forcing many companies to raise the salaries this year.

“The number of EU-born workers in the UK increased by just 7,000 between the first quarter of 2017 and first quarter of 2018, compared with an increase of 148,000 from the first quarter of 2016 to the first quarter of 2017. This represents a fall of 95 per cent and has fed into a tightening of the labour market, which is being seen through skills and labour shortages being reported by employers,” CIPD said in its report.

The recruiters accepted an average of 20 job applicants for the last low-skilled vacancy they tried to fill when compared with 24 candidates in summer 2017 and 25 applicants in autumn 2015.  The number of job seekers applying for the average low-skilled vacancy has moved down from 24 to 20 in the last year and from 19 to 10 for medium-skilled vacancies.

“With Brexit looming we’re seeing a talent shortage and a more competitive marketplace. In this candidate-short landscape, the pressure is on employers to not only offer an attractive salary, but also additional benefits. In today’s environment employment benefits such as health care, a strong pension, flexible working and a collaborative and empowering work culture give employers a strong competitive advantage in attracting the best talent,” said Alex Fleming, Country Head and President of Staffing and Solutions, The Adecco Group UK and Ireland.

Meanwhile, the number of EU migrants in the UK has moved down to the lowest level for four years, according to official data released. Report from the Office for National Statistics released recently showed net long-term migration to the UK from the EU was 101,000 in 2017 – the lowest number since the year ending March 2013.