Recruitment set to be headache for Northamptonshire employers

More than 60 per cent of companies looking to hire new staff say they have face difficulties finding suitably skilled recruits, according to a new survey by Northamptonshire Chamber of Commerce.

Its figures for the last quarter of 2019 show that 64 per cent of service sector respondents and 69 per cent of manufacturers that are looking to recruit are struggling to fill vacancies.

The survey shows that overall 36 per cent of respondents expect to increase the size of their workforce during 2020 - up from the 30 per cent of respondents that saw workforce growth in the last three months of 2019.

Overall, the survey presents a healthy economy despite prolonged political uncertainty.

It says respondents saw a slight increase in domestic activity at the end of last year and that more than 60 per cent were confident about the future but a growth in overseas trade fell.

Chamber chief executive Paul Griffiths said: “The latest survey goes to show the resilience and positive attitudes of our county’s business community.

“Business confidence remained steady with firms continuing to adopt a positive outlook for the future and training investment also rose.

But he warns: “I dramatic change is not enacted it is likely that businesses will halt investment in recruitment – to the detriment of growth.”