According to the official records, there are more job openings than the actual number of unemployed people for the first time in the UK in half a century. Between the months of January and March, the jobless rate decreased to 3.7%, which has been the lowest in over 50 years, as job vacancies reached a new high of 1.3 million..
Wages, excluding bonuses, have not kept up with rising prices, a problem that worsened as food and gasoline prices rose.
Ben Harrison, director of the Work Foundation think tank at Lancaster University has stated that even when employment was continuing to rise, recent figures highlight the challenges that are faced by workers. They are currently witnessing inflation which in turn is wearing down their living standards.
The data stated by the Office for National Statistics shows how there is a rise in the number of people who are gradually going into economic inactivity. People aged between 16-64 haven’t been working or seeking a job anywhere.
One such case described by BBC is of Buddy Love who along with his wife runs the Flying Fish which is a restaurant, pub, and hotel situated in Somerset.
According to him, when looking for a chef he had to spend six weeks and £2,000 on advertisements. Ultimately, none of them worked and he got the right candidate through word of mouth. He had even offered a good salary, perks such as free accommodation, and much more.
He found a Romanian couple who had previously worked in the UK will shortly take over the task as a job share, this allowed Love to focus on his main job of growing his business.