Recruitment difficulties slowly beginning to ease - Chambers survey

Recruitment difficulties facing businesses across the West Midlands are slowly but surely beginning to ease, according to a new economic survey.

The West Midlands Quarterly Economic Snapshot for Q1 of 2023 reveals firms across the region are reporting a downturn in recruitment difficulties which have posed significant problems since the Covid-19 outbreak.

Sponsored by Prime Accountants and Birmingham City University, the West Midlands Quarterly Economic Snapshot offers an up-to-date picture of the performance of the business community in the West Midlands Combined Authority area.

Data is gathered by the Greater Birmingham, Black Country and Coventry and Warwickshire Chambers of Commerce.

According to the Q1 data, recruitment challenges are showing tentative signs of easing, with 62 per cent of businesses reporting difficulties - the lowest figure since Q3 of 2021.

In a further positive sign, businesses are also revising their figures upwards by a small amount for investment in capital expenditure.

Henrietta Brealey, CEO of Greater Birmingham Chambers of Commerce, said: “On average, 62 per cent of businesses reported experiencing recruitment difficulties in Q1, a decrease of six per cent on the previous quarter and the lowest figure recorded since Q3 2021.

“In both Coventry and Warwickshire and Greater Birmingham, such challenges are felt more profoundly, whereas in the Black Country, the number of businesses citing recruitment difficulties was below the regional average.

“In terms of cashflow, although the overall balance score has increased since Q4 2022, more granular analysis shows that a majority of survey respondents have seen a stagnation for this metric, and only one percentage point more have seen an increase in cashflow than a decrease.

“Greater Birmingham Chambers of Commerce, in partnership with the other WMCA area Chambers, remain committed to aiding businesses in their resilience and recovery from a turbulent economic period as we tentatively begin to look to a more stable domestic trade climate whilst continuing to work through the uncertainty of inflation and interest rate concerns. ”