Adult care vacancy rate risen by 22,000 in last year

New workforce figures from Skills for Care have revealed that 110,000 jobs in adult care in England are currently left vacant, a rise of 22,000 in a year.

Workforce data shows that the vacancy rate has risen from an estimated 6.6 per cent in 2017 to approximately eight per cent in 2018, with employers finding it challenging to get people with the ‘right values’ for care work.

The figures also reveal that the average pay for council care employees was £9.80 an hour, while the average pay per hour in the private sector was £8.12. In comparison, supermarket Aldi pays staff £8.85 an hour, while rival Lidl increased basic pay to £8.75 in March. Morrisons, Asda and Marks and Spencer also all pay £8.50 or more per hour.

The statistics also show 31 per cent of carers left or changed jobs in 2017-18.

Sharon Allen, chief executive of Skills for Care, said: "Employers often tell us their biggest issue is finding people with the right values to work in adult social care and this report shows the scale of that challenge."

The Department of Health and Social Care issues a statement claiming that it was to ‘launch a recruitment campaign to further raise the profile of the sector’ soon.