The recruitment boom in the North is continuing - but its momentum is fading amid a shrinking supply of staff, the region's latest jobs report has shown.
The KPMG and REC Report on Jobs for the North pointed to "still-strong" hiring trends in July, with permanent staff placements and temp billings rising at "sharp rates".
That was despite the expansions easing slightly in both instances amid "steep declines" in the availability of both types of workers.
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Warren Middleton, office senior partner for KPMG in Manchester, said: “With the decline of both permanent and temporary staff availability and such high demand in the jobs market for people with certain skills, we are seeing salary inflation as organisations compete for staff.
"It is clear some businesses are struggling to meet demand as we see a crunch point between staff having to self-isolate and low staff availability in the jobs market.
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"Businesses must look at upskilling or reskilling potential candidates and if you are out of work, I’d encourage you to look at what skills are in short supply and consider changing sector.”
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The report released on Friday showed permanent staff supply deteriorated at a survey-record rate, while the availability of temp labour continued to fall.
Despite that, job vacancies continued to soar, with growth rates in permanent and temp staff demand hitting fresh survey peaks.
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As a result, starting salaries and temp rates of pay rose considerably, with the former increasing at the quickest pace on record.
Kate Shoesmith, deputy chief executive of the REC, said this month’s data confirms that "it is a good time to be a looking for a new job".
She said: "Employers are desperate to find good candidates for the many jobs on offer and this is reflected in starting salaries rising at the sharpest rate since the survey began in 1997. This will likely motivate more people to be on the lookout for new opportunities.
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"The same goes for those on temporary contracts which are also seeing increased pay. Recruiters are working hard to fill places for employers eager to build back and recover but their job is made more difficult by worker shortages across all sectors.
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“Pay increases alone, however, won’t solve the demand that has been building up over recent months. We need an immigration system that flexes to meet demand as was promised, and business and government need a long-term plan for skilling up workers.
"Skills shortages have been with us for a while and as our data shows are getting worse.”