Employers squeezed as job vacancies grow to record levels

UK firms struggle to find staff as unemployment falls to lows not seen since the mid-1970s

Record numbers of unfilled job vacancies across Britain appear to have strengthened the bargaining power of workers to demand higher wages, amid mounting fears over skills shortages at UK companies.

According to the Office for National Statistics, the number of vacancies in the British jobs market rose by 16,000 to an estimated 870,000 in the three months to January, the highest level since comparable records began in 2001.

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