SCOTLAND’S jobs crisis is deepening. The labour market is shrinking along with the economy and businesses are closing early or altogether because they cannot get enough staff.

Lord Simon Wolfson, retail giant Next chief and one of a small band of high-level businesspeople who championed Brexit, could be seen as adding insult to injury by first advocating for a European Union divorce and now bemoaning the direct impact of the action. But it gets worse.

New figures showed this week the jobs market in Scotland shrank at a rate not seen since the country locked down at the height of the pandemic.
Recruiters across Scotland pointed to October as the 21st successive monthly fall in permanent candidate availability.

The Royal Bank of Scotland Jobs Survey found the pace of reduction across Scotland was more rapid than that recorded for the UK as a whole, and recruiters highlighted a lack of European workers and ongoing skill shortages as key factors.

Separately, Conservative peer Lord Wolfson is now seeking a rule-change.

The Herald: Lord Wolfson said this is 'not the Brexit that I wanted'Lord Wolfson said this is 'not the Brexit that I wanted' (Image: PA Wire)

It might seem a bitter irony to some. Even more so, though, could be the suggestion of a solution that businesses pay a tax to employ foreign workers – 10 per cent of their wage – to show they really need them and have exhausted options for UK nationals.

Next is currently hiring in Scotland, starting at £6.89 an hour.

Business correspondent Kristy Dorsey delved into the issue in a special report, highlighting that food, tourism, hospitality and care firms have been among those hit the hardest by labour shortages, but most sectors are struggling to fill vacancies.

In her article, David Lonsdale, Scottish Retail Consortium director, said the labour market is one of several factors pushing up costs. 

“Many retailers are hiring not only for shop and warehouse staff, but for digital and IT roles too – and they are not alone, with a bidding war for talent across industries,” he said. “Retailers are taking what steps they can to address these skills shortages, raising wages, improving employee benefits, and increasing in-house training, but with rising costs and falling consumer confidence, investment can be difficult to afford.”

More than 50 firms joined forces to launch a campaign to help safeguard jobs in the hospitality industry, deputy business editor Scott Wright reports.

"As the industry grapples with a cost-of-doing-business crisis, and it faces its third tough winter since the pandemic started, a new online platform has been set up that can be used by hospitality businesses to promote offers and attract direct bookings.”

The Herald: There are major issues to be tackled on the lifeline services operated by CalMac Ferries, of which Caledonian MacBrayne is a trading nameThere are major issues to be tackled on the lifeline services operated by CalMac Ferries, of which Caledonian MacBrayne is a trading name (Image: Herald Design)

Elsewhere, the furore over the two delayed vessels for Caledonian MacBrayne being built by Ferguson Marine, which is now owned by the Scottish Government after falling into administration in 2018, was put under the spotlight by business editor Ian McConnell this week.

“It has seemed there have been issues on both the Ferguson and CMAL sides as the cost of these long-overdue ferries, still a way from delivery, has rocketed and time has rolled on,” he writes, as he also warns: “The CalMac lifeline ferry services storm must not end in privatisation.”

Also this week, a look ahead to brighter days as Scotland’s first artificial surf park was rebranded in a bid to boost its staycation appeal when it opens in the summer of 2024.

The Herald: How the facility might lookHow the facility might look (Image: Lost Shore Surf Resort)