Jobs crunch ‘hampering UK economy bounce-back’

BRITAIN’S jobs crisis is stunting the economy and causing a troubling drop in trade, experts have claimed.

A dire shortage of staff with the right skills, especially for roles such as lorry drivers, means businesses are struggling to serve customers, the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) said.

The warning came as data revealed the economy grew by 0.4 per cent in August and is now just 0.8 per cent smaller than it was pre-pandemic. But economists cautioned Britain’s rebound in output, or gross domestic product (GDP), could be halted by staff shortages and rising prices.

Claire Walker, BCC co-executive director, said: ‘GDP remains some way off pre-pandemic levels and there are clear indications that the economic headwinds caused by labour shortages and supply chain disruption are beginning to bite.’ The Office for National Statistics showed a record number of UK job vacancies for September, at 1.2million. ONS data also showed the economy contracting by 0.1 per cent in July, rather than growing by the same amount as initially thought.

Kevin Brown, of Scottish Friendly, said: ‘After enduring repeated Covid-enforced lockdowns, many households now face the very real prospect of an economic lockdown as their disposable income is stripped back.’ The ONS also found exports fell by 4.6 per cent from July to August. Imports fell by 3.1 per cent.