§ 26. Mr. Coombsasked the Secretary of State for Employment what shortages of labour have been reported to his Department during the past three months, in which regions, and in which industries; and which further shortages he expects to occur during the next six months.
§ Mr. Chichester-ClarkThe principal labour shortages reported to my Department in the last three months have been national shortages of certain skilled construction workers and local shortages, mainly in the South and Midlands, of engineering workers. I do not anticipate any additional general labour shortages in the next six months, though clearly the continuing expansion of the economy will cause problems of recruitment and deployment.