NORTH Yorkshire needs to attract more people into the county to work because of difficulties in filling vacancies, according to a council official.

Justine Brooksbank, the county council's head of human resources, will this week tell members of the audit and corporate affairs scrutiny committee that unemployment in the county is "extremely low".

But she will add that attracting people from outside the county into jobs is hampered by the high cost of housing and transport.

Her report says: "Young people tend to move out of North Yorkshire, depleting the area of the primary on-going source of recruitment. They are also remaining in education for longer.

"A much greater proportion of young people go to university - some 40 pc compared with five per cent 20 years ago."

The falling birth rate is aggravating the difficulties and less than 20 per cent of the population is aged under 15.

North Yorkshire's vibrant tourist industry is absorbing labour at a high rate.

The committee which meets on June 6, is being recommended to set up a task group to look at the issue of employing young people.