Shropshire firms struggling to fill job vacancies

Bridgnorth cafe owner Emma Rutter says she has been working 17-hour days due to a lack of staff

Businesses in Shropshire have said they are struggling to fill vacancies, describing the situation as a "ticking timebomb" for the county's economy.

Shropshire Chamber of Commerce said competition for skills and labour was expected to drive up wage costs, and in turn inflation.

It said the number of job vacancies across the county was "now at near record levels".

For Emma Rutter, a cafe owner, this means working 17 hours a day.

The Whitburn Coffee House has been looking for staff for months

"We've had staffing issues since Covid," she told BBC Radio Shropshire.

Ms Rutter runs Whitburn Coffee House in High Town, Bridgnorth, and says she has been advertising for additional staff for months.

"I started work at 5:30 this morning and I'll be lucky if I get home at nine o'clock tonight.

"Having staff would mean I wouldn't have to come in during the day, because I could do my cooking in the evening".

Chamber chief executive Richard Sheehan said companies were struggling to attract staff

She is not alone, a number of shops in Bridgnorth have posters in their windows looking for staff - including hairdressers, cafes, restaurants and charity shops.

Richard Sheehan, chief executive of Shropshire Chamber of Commerce, said: "It's no exaggeration to say that things have reached crisis point for many Shropshire businesses, forcing them to either let customers down, or turn away new business."