REC response to ONS labour market figures, July 2021

The Office for National Statistics published its latest labour market figures this morning. Responding to the figures, Chief Executive of the REC Neil Carberry said:

"All signs show the labour market continued to recover over the period up to May and June, with the unemployment rate decreasing again and the number of employees on company payrolls continuing to rise. As our surveys have already reported, vacancies have surged again and are now above pre-pandemic levels for the first time since early 2020. Demand for staff is incredibly high right now, and recruiters are working flat out to fill roles – but serious worker shortages across the economy threaten to slow the recovery, especially in sectors like logistics, hospitality and IT. Firms need to be thinking hard about their offer to potential employees at a time like this, and government can support them by addressing long-standing business concerns about how the skills system supports our economy."

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