Companies are facing skill shortages at critical levels that will restrain economic activity this year unless the issue is addressed, a leading business lobby group has warned. The British Chambers of Commerce, which represents thousands of companies, said that labour and skills shortages were likely to be the biggest challenge that firms face this year. Companies need to confront the problem by investing in skills and the government needs to provide the certainty to encourage them to spend, it added in its economic survey for the final quarter of last year. Concerns about recruitment have been mounting as unemployment falls to a 42-year low of 4.3 per cent. Companies that recruit much of their skilled workforce from overseas fear that the UK’s departure from the
The widening skills gap is the " biggest drag on business " according to the British Chamber of Commerce ( BCC ) , a lobbying group which represents thousands of companies . 71 % of service sector companies have experienced problems requiring skilled labour . The group says the shortages are at critical levels , with many concerned that it will become much harder to recruit from overseas . The group insists economic activity will be halted as soon as this year , unless the matter is addressed . This comes as UK unemployment levels hit a 42-year low in conjunction with uncertainty around employment due to Brexit .