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Employers struggle as migrant workers leave - report

Employers seeking to hire new staff are facing a struggle to fill vacancies partly thanks to the "sudden reversal" in the number of migrants working in the UK, according to a new report.

Figures from the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) showed that among employers with vacancies, 70% were finding them hard to fill this autumn - higher than in previous polls this year.

The report played down the impact of Brexit in explaining the "labour supply shock" but said there would be further constraints from 2021 when restrictions for EU citizens are introduced.

It said the present shortage of skills and labour was being driven by declining interest from workers from outside the bloc "contrary to the popular narrative".

The report pointed to official data showing that the number of foreign-born workers in the UK had fallen between 2017 and 2018, reversing increases seen the year before.

Gerwyn Davies, senior labour market analyst for the CIPD, said: "The data implies that the pendulum has swung away from the UK as an attractive place to live and work for non-UK born citizens, especially non-EU citizens, during a period of strong employment growth and low unemployment.

"This has heightened recruitment difficulties for some employers.

"It also underlines the risk that more non-UK-born citizens and employers will be discouraged from using the post-Brexit system if more support is not provided and it is not made simpler, fairer and more affordable; especially for lower skilled roles."

The report, based on a survey of 1,000 employers, found the measure of those planning to increase staff levels remained "extremely positive".

It added that employers expected to increase pay over the next year by 2% - unchanged from a survey three months earlier.

However there were signs of better deals for new starters and key staff among organisations that were struggling to keep hold of employees.