Commenting on this morning’s release of labour market statistics that showed largely unchanged unemployment and economic inactivity rates in the three months to September, Alexandra Hall-Chen, Principal Policy Advisor for Employment at the Institute of Directors, said:

“Today’s data shows that while the number of vacancies has fallen slightly, the labour market remains very tight and businesses are still struggling to hire the people they need.

“Our own data shows that business leaders continue to cite skills and labour shortages as having a negative impact on their organisation, second only to more general concerns about the UK economy.

“Historically high levels of economic inactivity due to long-term sickness remain a cause for concern. The government should use next week’s Autumn Statement to support businesses to invest more in occupational health provision by expanding the range of occupational health services covered by Benefit in Kind exemptions.”