Shropshire businesses are still recruiting staff, despite Covid caution

That's one of the headline findings in the latest quarterly recruitment outlook from the British Chambers of Commerce, in partnership with Totaljobs.

The survey, a barometer of the UK labour market particularly among small and medium sized companies (SMEs), was carried out in August and September ahead of the resurgence of the virus.

It follows the BCC's latest Quarterly Economic Survey, which included the views of all those who completed the Shropshire Chamber survey, which found business conditions remained weak in the third quarter.

This latest survey found that 37 per cent of firms attempted to recruit in quarter three, higher than the historic low in quarter two but still below pre-Covid levels.

Businesses within the construction and transport/distribution sectors were among the most likely to recruit, with hotels and catering firms the least likely to recruit.

Looking ahead, 62 per cent of firms said they expected no change to the size of their workforce in the coming three months – before cases started to rise again.

Data from Totaljobs suggests that increases in vacancies may have been the result of the economy regearing itself as a result of the pandemic.

Micro firms with fewer than 10 employees were least likely to attempt recruitment in quarter three, while vacancies in construction doubled during the period, compared with the previous three months.

Richard Sheehan, Shropshire Chamber of Commerce chief executive, said: "These figures highlight some of the significant shifts in the UK labour market as a result of the pandemic.

"As the BCC director general says, it is vital now – given the scale of the challenge – that businesses and government work together on re-training and re-skilling our workforce.

"We need to see sustained investments in retraining schemes for people of all ages to help them stay in and progress in the job market.

"The Kickstart Scheme, where Shropshire Chamber is already working hard to connect local employers with young people, and the Lifetime Skills Guarantee are two pieces of a very big jigsaw."

Ruth Ross, Shropshire Chamber's director of business, added: "The temporary extension of furlough during this latest lockdown will bring short-term relief to many firms, but much more clarity is needed to ensure businesses can plan and are not left to guess from one month to the next.

"We, and our fellow chambers, will continue to work hard to ensure that support is commensurate with restrictions and helps firms endure further periods of extended closure.

"Although there were more roles advertised in quarter three compared to the previous quarter, the number of candidates on Totaljobs' website continued to outstrip vacancies, so any optimism comes with a large degree of caution."