While many businesses stay local in their employment, there is a growing trend for firms to relocate to regions with a more suited skill-base to their needs, according to an expert.

Hina Joshi from Business Link has advised prospective employers to research what skill-types are available in each area before undergoing a move and said that a good way of doing this is to contact regional development agencies in the prospective area.

However, she did say that this type of relocation was not for everyone.

She noted: "There are some cases where people choose to relocate, but it depends on the business, the nature of the product [and] what sort of service they’re going to be offering."

In related news, research recently carried out by Barclays found that the figures for new business launches in 2007 were the highest since records began in 1988.

It said that there was a 17 per cent increase on the original figures at 471,500 new openings across the UK.