ONE in 12 adult social care jobs in York were left vacant last year, according to new figures.

The charity Skills for Care has estimated there are 165,000 vacancies across England’s social care sector, which has hit a record high of nearly 11 per cent in the year to September.

Figures provided by the charity show York's adult social care sector in 2021-22 had a vacancy rate of eight per cent, as 4,800 of the 5,300 jobs available were left unfilled.

The vacancy rates for care workers and direct care jobs were the highest in the city, at 11 per cent and 10 per cent respectively.

Yorkshire and the Humber had the lowest vacancy rate across England’s regions, at nine per cent.

Jamaila Hussain, Corporate Director of Adult Services and Integration (DASS) at City of York Council, said: "Across the country, our valued social care workers are in great demand by care homes, home care providers and local authorities.

"We are working to attract and retain the best care workers to ensure that our most vulnerable residents have the care they need, where and when they need it.

"We have boosted sources of help for those needing care with our partners in the community and the voluntary sector. Temporary staff are adding valuable capacity while we continue to work hard to fill our excellent career opportunities, which are offered with manageable caseloads and support from our experienced managers."

Skills for Care found that York’s social care sector had an average turnover rate of 29 per cent, matching the average rate across England, with rates especially high among care workers, at 36 per cent, and direct care staff at 33 per cent.

However, the solution to both the high vacancy and turnover rates is better pay, they say.

They estimate that care workers with five years’ experience were paid just 7p per hour more than those with less than a year, and the average care workers was paid less than £1 per hour less than new healthcare assistants in the NHS.

They added that 480,000 extra social care staff are needed by 2035 as 28 per cent of the current workforce are aged 55 and over.

Ms Hussain added: "Referrals for social care continue to rise.

"We are reminding residents to keep well this winter with self care, using our Be Independent services, talking to family and friends about support needs and looking for it in their community via www.livewellyork.co.uk or talking to our local area coordinators - visit www.york.gov.uk/LocalAreaCoordination.

"Anyone looking for a truly satisfying job with all the training needed to build a great career, find out more at https://makecarematter.co.uk/ or call 07815 644420.”