The majority of UK employers intend to increase or maintain their use of temporary workers in the next three months amid a shortage of candidates, according to the latest JobsOutlook report by the Recruitment and Employment Confederation.

The research from the REC showed 19% of employers are actively looking to increase their headcount in the next three months. However, with 45% of employers expecting to face a shortage of suitable candidates over the next year, the report suggests that businesses may be turning to temporary workers to meet demand as permanent hiring becomes more difficult.

One in three businesses in the UK have no spare capacity and would need to recruit to meet additional demand. Meanwhile, 87% of employers intend to increase or maintain their use of temporary workers in the next three months and 24% transfer at least half of their temporary workers to permanent positions each year.

Since the beginning of 2017 an average of 55% of employers who recruit temporary workers do so to ‘respond to growth’. This compares to an average of 48% of employers who made the same claim in the second half of 2016.

“The majority of jobs created in recent years are full-time roles, but the data suggests that employers may need to bring in temps to fill vacancies because it’s so difficult to find candidates for permanent positions,” REC chief executive Kevin Green said.

"The pool of people without a job is shrinking, and the number of people deciding to switch jobs isn’t rising as much as we’d expect. Employers are improving starting salaries to attract candidates, but even with this incentive people are unsure about taking new jobs at a time of economic uncertainty,” Green said. “In many cases businesses are bringing in temps with the intention of converting them to permanent staff once they’re in the business. This is an example of how employers are seeking solutions to the skills shortage.”

Green added that the UK’s decision to leave the EU has made the situation more challenging.

“In London for example, a third of people working in construction are from the EU and it’s difficult to see how firms will manage if their workforce isn’t encouraged to stay in the UK and continue to contribute to our economy,” Green said.