A shortage of skilled staff is proving the biggest barrier to business in London, according to a survey from the CBI and KPMG.

It found 67% of respondents said they expect skills shortages to be the biggest obstacle to business growth over the next six months, up from 53% a year ago. Upward pressure on wages is the other major concern.

It found businesses are increasingly turning to migrant workers to address the skills gap, with half reliant on staff from other EU countries, and 37% on non-EU workers.

The survey found that 59% of employers are not confident that a new joint skills project by the government and the Mayor of London will deliver a workforce fit for business' purpose. It found 83% of employers have invested in improving their workforce's skills.

KPMG London senior partner Ian Barlow said: "In today's world of mobile capital our reputation as a world city, as the place where all international businesses need to come to do business, depends on continuing to have a workforce with the right skills and mindsets.

"Whilst the influx of talent from outside the UK has been very welcome, we really must do more to skill up Londoners. It's economically wasteful and morally simply wrong for there to be some 400,000 unemployed in London when there are so many job opportunities.”