Job vacancies in the U.K. grew at the sharpest rate in more than 16 years in August, results of a survey by Markit Economics on behalf of the Recruitment & Employment Confederation, or REC, and KPMG showed Friday.
The number of available job vacancies rose at a faster pace in August and the growth rate was strongest since April 1998.
Private sector and public sector job vacancies increased in August, with private sector demand rising sharply.
Total vacancies increased the most in the engineering sector while the least growth was noted in the hotel and catering industry.
Increased vacancies led to strong growth in staff appointments but the rate of increase eased from the previous month's five-month high.
Among the regions surveyed, placements improved the most in the South region.
Permanent employee salaries continued to rise at an accelerated pace in August and the growth rate was only slightly slower than the record-high rate in June. Also, temporary pay increased at a faster rate in August.
Meanwhile, the number of available candidates to fill job vacancies declined further. Particularly, the availability of permanent candidates recorded a steep decrease, although the rate of decline was slightly less than July's series-record rate.
Kevin Green, REC CEO, said, "As skills shortages increase and employers struggle to find the people they need, politicians from all parties should focus on ensuring that we have a visa and immigration regime that supports UK businesses."
"Just when it seemed the UK's economy had definitely turned a corner, a couple of warning shots have been fired," Bernard Brown, partner and head of business services at KPMG, said.
He also commented that the desperation of employers to find the right staff is leading to continuous wage growth that is both unsustainable and unrealistic.
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