Employers Still Report Difficulty Finding Talent

The top hardest-to-fill jobs are Skilled Trades, Sales Representatives, Technicians, and Engineers according to the survey of more than 35,000 employers across 36 countries. These same jobs have topped the list for the past four years, Manpower said in a press release.  

In the Americas, the survey shows that 34% of the region’s employers are having difficulty filling positions due to the lack of suitable talent available in their markets – a decrease of two percentage points from 2009 but three percentage points greater than the global average. Employers in Brazil (64%) and Argentina (53%) are having the most difficulty finding staff, while those in the United States (14%) and Canada (21%) are having the least difficulty.  

Vacancies for technicians are the most difficult to fill in the Americas for the third year in succession. Employers are identifying secretaries, PAs and administrative assistants as the second most difficult, followed by laborers and sales representatives in third and forth positions.

Manpower’s fifth annual Talent Shortage Survey finds talent shortages in Asia Pacific are higher than the global average, with 41% of the region's employers indicating they are having difficulty filling positions due to the lack of suitable talent in their markets. This is a nine percentage point increase when compared to the 2009 survey.   

Employers having the most difficulty finding the right talent to fill jobs are those in Japan (76%), Singapore, (53%), Australia (45%), and Hong Kong (44%). The talent shortage appears to be least problematic in India (16%).   

Sales representative remains the most difficult job to fill for the fifth year in succession.  

Across the 18 countries surveyed in the Europe, Middle East, and Africa region, 23% of employers report having difficulty filling positions due to the lack of suitable talent available in their markets – down from 25% in 2009 and eight percentage points lower than the global average.   

Those having the most difficulty finding the right talent to fill jobs are in Poland (51%), Romania (36%), Austria and Switzerland (both 35%). The talent shortage is least problematic in Ireland (4%), the United Kingdom (9%) and Norway (11%).   

EMEA employers named skilled trades as the most difficult position to fill for the fourth year in succession, followed by sales representatives, and technicians.  

The complete results of Manpower's global talent shortage survey and a Fresh Perspectives Paper Teachable Fit: A New Approach for Easing the Talent Mismatch can be downloaded at http://www.manpower.com/ResearchCenter.