Reuters reports that according to the survey by job search website Adzuna, british businesses ramped up their search for new staff as pubs, restaurants and other hospitality and travel firms got ready for Monday's lifting of coronavirus restrictions in England.

But an exodus of foreign workers is aggravating a shortage of candidates, with more than 10 jobs on offer for every job-seeker in some cities.

Job adverts on Adzuna jumped to 987,800 in the first week of May, up by 18% from the end of March, which was before the reopening of non-essential retailers and hospitality firms for outdoor service on April 12.

A further lifting of restrictions to allow pub and restaurants to serve customers indoors takes place in England on Monday.

However, a lot of workers had given up on looking for hospitality and retail jobs in favour of more secure work after three lockdowns in the past year, it said.

"There are also far fewer foreign workers seeking employment in the UK with overseas interest in UK jobs more than halving from before the pandemic, hitting these industries hard," Andrew Hunter, a co-founder of Adzuna, said.

Adzuna said 250,000 fewer job-seekers from western Europe and North America applied for work in the United Kingdom per month between February and April than before pre-pandemic.