Many job seekers cannot even be bothered to turn up for interviews on time and lack 'the right attitude to work', a damning survey of employers revealed yesterday.
Despite unemployment rocketing to a 17-year high, nearly half of employers said they could not find the right person for a job when they have a vacancy.
They said candidates were hampered by poor literacy and numeracy.
Even if they have the right qualifications, they often lack 'soft' skills such as timekeeping and communication, according to the report by the British Chambers of Commerce.
More than 440 firms in Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire were asked whether they find it easy or difficult to recruit the right staff for a job. Unemployment in the East Midlands currently stands at 183,000.
Just 30 per cent said they find it easy – but 43 per cent said they find it quite or very difficult.
When asked why candidates were wrong for the job, many bosses said they did not have ‘the right attitude towards work’.
Others said some job hunters were so lazy they could not even turn up for an interview on time.
George Cowcher, chief executive of Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire Chamber of Commerce, said: ‘A highly-skilled workforce is absolutely crucial to the success of any business.
‘But the results of this survey provide incontrovertible evidence of what our members have been telling us for some time.