The number of people taking permanent job roles increased last month compared with March, according to the latest figures by the Recruitment and Employment Confederation (REC) and KPMG.

The figures also show that the recent steep drop in UK unemployment is exacerbating the skills shortage and sending wages higher.

Staff availability for permanent roles has fallen to its lowest point in 10 years, while the same measure for part-time roles has dropped to depths not seen since 2000.

“This dearth of skilled workers means that many organisations will need to improve their candidate experience and also look overseas to find people,” said REC chief exec Kevin Green.

“The government must do more to support businesses by ensuring that the visa process does not act as a barrier to growth.”

The data was collated by financial data firm Markit and gathers together information from 400 UK-based recruitment organisations.

The most in-demand skills were found to be in the engineering, medicine including nursing, the financial sector and construction industries.