Around 40% of recruitment agencies in Scotland have reported a decline in the availability of candidates in August, according to Bank of Scotland’s latest Scottish Labour Report.

It also found that wages in Scotland are growing at their fastest level ever because of a shortage of workes.

It discovered that employers are involved in a bidding war in the areas where the skills shortages are most acute. The rate of wage inflation was highest in Edinburgh where skills shortages are most widespread and the jobs market is tightest.