About 19-36% of establishments reported vacancies of which 5-16% were hard to fill. 3% of establishments in England, 3% in Scotland and 8% in Wales reported skill shortage vacancies.

The highest distribution of hard-to-fill vacancies by occupation and region are:

England (2003)

• 26% professional occupations, compared to 7% of the whole economy in England
• 30% associate professional and technical occupation, compared to 12% of the whole economy

Northern Ireland (2002)

• 35% clerical and secretarial, compared to 7% in the whole Irish economy
• 19% professional occupations, compared to 4% of the whole economy

Scotland (2002)

• 56% administrative and secretarial occupations, compared to 7% of the whole economy in Scotland
• 24% professional occupations, compared to 4% of the whole economy

Source: SSDA 2004. Based on the Employers Skill Survey.

N.B. Available data include defence sector statistics. No data were available for Wales.