Post-Brexit and pandemic inquiry launched into labour market recovery as shortages ‘act as brake on prosperity’
A post-pandemic and Brexit recovery inquiry has been launched into the UK labour market as skills and worker shortages appear to have strained the recovery post-pandemic and Brexit.
The Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) committee initiated the probe on Friday in wake of recently published figures by the Office for National Statistics, showing more vacancies than people to fill them
Figures showed UK employment to be at 75.7 per cent, 0.1 per cent higher than the previous three-months – but 0.9 percentage points lower than before the coronavirus pandemic
UK unemployment rate was estimated at 3.7 per cent which is 0.3 per cent lower than the previous three-months, and 0.2 per points below pre-coronavirus pandemic levels.
In an appeal for industry experts, firms and unions, the committee’s chair Darren Jones MP said the shortfall was “acting as a brake on our prosperity.”
The recover was being “ made more difficult by the effects of an ageing population and changes in migration” so to “give us the best possible chance we must make sure we have the right workers, with the right skills, in the right places.
“That’s why we’ve launched an inquiry into what employers need to accelerate the recovery, what workers need for their own stability and growth, and how new technology can be harnessed in a fair and productive economy.”
Evidence can be submitted to the inquiry for five key areas, including the labour market, artificial intelligence, workers’ rights, modern employment status and the impact of an ageing population.