The latest Report on Jobs from the Recruitment & Employment Confederation (REC) and Markit found that almost 43% of recruiters had worse availability of candidates for ongoing roles in May than in the previous month. 

The report gave a seasonally adjusted index reading of 33.2 for permanent candidate availability, a significant decline in the past month as 50 represents no change, and the lowest reading for 21 months.

Availability of temporary staff was given an index reading of 40.2, again a decline, but at a slower rate than April’s 38.8.

REC policy director Tom Hadley said: “Official data shows unemployment has dropped to the lowest level since 1975, and EU citizens are leaving the UK in droves. Employers seeking to fill vacancies are running out of options.

“Skill shortages are causing headaches in many sectors. The NHS, for example, is becoming increasingly reliant on short-term cover to fill gaps in hospital rotas because there aren’t enough nurses to take permanent roles. Meanwhile, the shortage of people with cyber security skills is a particular concern in many businesses in the wake of the recent high-profile WannaCry attacks.

“Whichever party forms the next government must focus on improving the employability of our young people and boosting inclusion for underrepresented groups. Alongside this, these figures clearly show that in many sectors we need more, not fewer people so that businesses can grow and public services continue to deliver.”

• Want to comment on this story? Email us at [email protected] or tweet us below to tell us your thoughts. We will run comments online in a round-up at the end of the week.