Social care vacancies in the North East have risen by almost 50% - with a new report highlighting the scale of the growing crisis in the sector.
The organisation Skills for Care - which is the workforce body advising care employers and the Government on the recruitment, training and development of staff - has analysed data showing there are currently around 7,500 vacancies in the region.
The data shows that across 600 organisations, the mean hourly pay for workers in the independent sector in the North East was just £9.43.
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The increase in vacancies seen in our region has been replicated around the country, and despite the drastic rises seen here, the North East actually has among the lowest vacancy rates of any area - at 8.7%. Nationally, there are around 165,000 vacancies on any given day, the industry body said.
In response, Newcastle City Council's deputy leader and cabinet member for health and care Coun Karen Kilgour said: "Recruitment within the adult social care sector has been challenging nationally for some time, and remains so. The North East and Newcastle are no exception.
"We are continuing to work with local communities to show that a career in care is a great option, offering a satisfying, purposeful, and skilled profession which has a direct impact on the lives of others."
Coun Kilgour said the council and regional counterparts were working closely with employers to show how rewarding a career in care can be - and she added: "Alongside this, we continue to lobby national government to improve the terms and conditions for people working in adult social care – investing not only in wages but also in a nationally recognised career pathway."
Coun Kilgour also pointed to the city's health and social care academy, which offers training, DBS checks and a guaranteed interview to those interested in a career in care - while there are also health and social care apprenticeships available locally. She also highlighted how the council was committed to paying all employees the Real Living Wage - £10.90 an hour - and that this will also benefit care workers at firms which it commissions.
Last week, Steve Massey - operations manager at the Solehawk and Popular Care group running homes in Newcastle and the North East - told ChronicleLive how recruitment "was and continues to be very challenging". He said: "It is the main challenge. We can't recruit enough staff and we can't pay them what they're really worth."
Karen Morse, Skills for Care's Head of Area for the North East said: "Like the rest of England, the North East has seen a notable increase in vacancies across adult social care in the last year. The people who work in social care are key to ensuring that everyone in our community can live the lives they choose.
"We must prioritise the sustainability of the social care workforce to ensure everyone is able to access the care they need now and in the future."
She added there was a "need to talk more about the important work these organisations are doing across our region".
“We have almost 2,000 establishments in the North East providing vital care and support. We need to talk more about the important work these organisations are doing across our region, and recognise the skills and passion of the people who provide vital services in our local communities.”
Skills for Care chief executive Oonagh Smyth said society needs a "step change" in how it values social care and those who work in the industry.
This comes following news key social care reforms will be delayed by two years, revealed by the Chancellor in his Autumn Statement, though billions of funding will be provided to help deliver more care packages. Jeremy Hunt said the sector will receive increases in funding of up to £2.8bn next year and £4.7bn the following year.
It will enable an estimated 200,000 more care packages to be delivered, he said, calling the investment the “biggest increase in funding under any Government, of any colour, in history”.
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