By Hao Li: Subscribe to Hao's RSS feed
August 4, 2010 10:36 PM EDT
In May 2010, there were 14.9-million unemployed people in the U.S. looking for jobs, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). The total number of people looking for work is actually millions higher because the BLS figure excludes those who are underemployed and those who have given up looking for work.
Therefore, it is astounding that 3.2-million jobs are still unfilled in the U.S. The figure has steadily increased since May 2009, when there were "only" 2.4 million unfilled jobs.
In other words, despite the millions who have been rendered jobless by the Great Recession and are desperately looking for work, one of the reasons hiring is hindered is because employers still cannot find enough qualified workers,
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Manpower Inc.
According to a survey done by Manpower Inc (NYSE: MAN), an employment services company, the percentage of employers having difficulties finding qualified candidates was 40 percent in 2006, 41 percent in 2007, 31 percent in 2008, and 30 percent in 2009.
The problem is most acute in Taiwan, where 62 percent of the employers have the problem. Ireland is least affected at 5 percent. The U.S. came in at 19 percent, India at 20 percent, and China at 15 percent.
By industry, the most acute shortages are in skilled trades like electricians, plumbers, and carpenters. Other hard-to-fill positions are sales representatives, IT professionals, engineers, and accountants. A more surprising claim is that generic positions like laborers, secretaries, personal assistants, and drivers are also hard to fill.
CareerBuilder.com
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