Live news: Eight in 10 UK businesses claim they cannot hire skilled employees, survey shows

Eight in 10 UK businesses claim they cannot hire skilled employees, according to the results of a survey released on Monday.

Sectors with the highest skills shortages are energy and utilities, healthcare and life sciences, transport and logistics, financial and property, and information technology, employers told the ManpowerGroup survey.

Michael Stull, director at the US-based temporary staffing group, said the coronavirus pandemic had exacerbated an existing dearth of talent.

“Talent shortages are always an area of concern for employers, but the real step change in our data can be seen post 2019,” he said.

The survey sought responses from 2,020 UK companies.