Lorry drivers, IT workers and nurses are the UK's most-needed jobs right now, according to a new report.
Companies are facing the worst recruitment crisis in 20 years, experts have warned.
There were 1.66million job vacancies at the end of August, according to the latest figures from the Recruitment and Employment Confederation (REC).
This is because growing confidence about the country beating the coronavirus pandemic means businesses have gone on a hiring spree, it said.
The number of vacancies is due to keep rising for the next few months, the REC said.
REC chief executive Neil Carberry said: "In August, the number of staff available to start jobs fell at another new record rate, deepening the current labour shortage.
"Recruiters are working around the clock, placing more people into work than ever as these figures show. Switching the entire economy on over the summer has created a unique demand spike, and a short-term crisis."
The ten most in-demand jobs
- Lorry drivers - 100,000
- Nurses - 79,123
- Programmers and software developers - 68,929
- Carers - 49,751
- Primary school and nursery staff - 30,574
- Chefs - 29,996
- Sales assistants - 26,183
- Cleaners - 24,148
- Metal working roles - 19,748
- Carpenters and joiners - 6,364
Aside from the hiring spree, jobs in certain careers are in high demand at the moment due to the pandemic and Brexit.
The lack of workers is mostly due to Europeans facing too much red tape to work in the UK after Brexit.
It is also down to many staff being forced to stay at home and self-isolate during the pandemic.
The problem is likely to keep getting worse, according to KPMG head of education, skills and productivity Claire Warnes.
She said: "This crisis isn’t going away, and the winding down of the furlough scheme at the end of September – while potentially bringing more job hunters to the market - could also add fuel to the labour shortage fire.
"Many businesses will have changed their business model during the pandemic, and so significant numbers of staff returning from furlough may need reskilling to rejoin the workforce in the same or another sector."
The Road Haulage Association (RHA) has also estimated there is a 100,000 shortage of HGV drivers across the UK, triggering gaps on shelves due to severe delays in deliveries.
Morrisons said yesterday it expects the UK's lorry driver shortage to fuel a rise in inflation in the coming months.
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The supermarket chain warned of "industry-wide" price rises while reporting a 43% drop in profits in its half-year results on Thursday.
The UK's fourth-largest supermarket chain said the hikes were to be "driven by sustained recent commodity price increases and freight inflation, and the current shortage of HGV drivers".
However, it said it would seek to mitigate those and other potential cost increases, such as any racked up in maintaining good product availability.
