The adult social care workforce in England started growing again
in 2022-3, according to new data from Skills for Care.
The annual Size and Structure of the Adult
Social Care Sector and Workforce in England report from
the strategic workforce development body found that the number of
filled posts - roles with a person working in them - increased by
around 1% (20,000) between April 2022 and March 2023. The
previous year, the number of filled posts fell for the first time
on record, by around 4% (60,000).
The new figures – based on data from Skills for Care’s Adult
Social Care Workforce Data Set (ASC-WDS) and other sources
– show that, at the same time, the vacancy
rate decreased to 9.9%, or around 152,000 on any given day,
compared with 10.6% (around 164,000) the previous year.
The number of vacant posts includes posts vacant in the
short term due to recent or anticipated staff
turnover, posts created by employers who want to expand
their businesses, as well as more persistent vacancies where the
offer to potential staff is not sufficiently competitive in the
local labour market. Some vacant posts may be covered by agency
staff.
Some employers are using international recruitment to help them
address recruitment and retention challenges, with around 70,000
people recruited from abroad into direct
care-providing roles after adult social care was added to
the Shortage Occupation List in February 2022.
The level of international recruitment has contributed to the
rate of new starters increasing from 32% to 34% in the
independent sector.
At the same time, the turnover rate in the independent sector
decreased from 32% to 30%. Early evidence from ASC-WDS suggests
the turnover rate for international recruits was around half that
of people recruited from within the UK.
The total number of filled posts in adult social care in 2022-3
was estimated at 1.635 million. These posts were filled by 1.52m
people which is 5.2% of the total workforce in England, and more
than the number of people working in the NHS, schools or food and
drink manufacturing.
For independent sector care homes, the number of filled
posts was up by 3% (16,000). In independent sector domiciliary
care services, the number of filled posts increased by 2%
(10,000). There was a small drop in the number of Personal
Assistants and posts employed by Local Authorities.
The total number of posts in adult social care in England,
including filled posts and staff vacancies, was 1.79
million in 2022-3 - an increase of 0.5% from the
previous year.
The figures continue to point to long-term challenges for the
social care workforce. If it grows proportionally to the
projected number of people aged 65 and over in the population,
the number of posts will need to increase by around 445,000 posts
to around 2.23 million by 2035.
Oonagh Smyth, CEO of Skills for Care
said: “We want to thank everyone who works in
social care for the work that they do supporting people to live
the lives they choose every day. Social care is a very fulfilling
career.
“It is encouraging that the number of filled posts has gone up
and the vacancy rate has come down. Nevertheless, the data shared
by employers with our Adult Social Care Workforce Data Set still
show significant pressure on them to find and keep people with
the right values needed to work in care.
“It’s positive that we now have a workforce plan for the
NHS, which recognises how health and social care are dependent on
each other. Our data support the case for a social care workforce
plan, including consideration of terms and conditions to support
social care roles to be competitive in local labour markets. This
will help to make sure that we have enough people with the right
skills in the right places to support people who draw on care and
support now, and for future generations.
“Any workforce plan needs to involve a range of partners as
social care is a large and diverse sector. Skills for Care is
ready to work with local and national Government, employers,
people who draw on care and support and our sector partners to
help deliver a sustainable plan for the adult social care
workforce.
“We’re hugely grateful to all the care providers who share their
data with us, as this helps us to build a rich and accurate
picture of what’s happening in the sector and identify and
address the challenges it faces.”
- The link to the data in the press release will display our
2021-2 data until the web page is updated with the 2022-23 data
on Wednesday 12 July.
- Figures for 2021-2 may be slightly different from those
previously published. This is because figures from previous years
are retrospectively changed when new information becomes
available or methodologies improve.
- Skills for Care will publish more detailed data and analysis
of the adult social care sector and workforce in October, in its
annual State of the Adult Social Care Sector and Workforce in
England report.
