Skills shortage pushes up wages

The average British worker has seen their salary increase by two per cent in the past year, according to the Office of National Statistics’ (ONS) new figures for the three months leading up to October.

Year-on-year, the number of people in employment has increased by 505,000. There are currently 22.88 million people working full-time in Britain, with 8.42 million people working part-time.

Ann Swain is the CEO at APSCo. She says: “It’s not surprising that average pay continues to rise, particularly within the professional sectors, as organisations compete to attract the top talent and fill shortages.

“According to the latest monthly APSCo Professional Recruitment Trends report, remuneration has seen notably increased in key economic sectors, where addressing skills shortages is crucial in facilitating continued growth, in particular the banking and financial services market, where uplifts of 18.5% and 10.8% respectively have been experienced.”