A new study by ROBERT HALF INTERNATIONAL AND CAREERBUILDER.COM shows both employees and employers face challenges in today’s tough economy.
Key Findings of the report titled Employment Dynamics and Growth Expectations (EDGE) Report include:
- More than half of employers said it is challenging to find skilled professionals today.
- The shortage of qualified workers has grown more acute, with 59 percent of hiring managers citing it as their primary recruiting challenge, up from 52 percent in 2007.
- Generation Y workers are the most difficult to recruit.
- Closely mirroring responses from employers, more than half of workers said it is challenging to find a job today.
- A lack of qualified workers and the higher cost of gas/commuting were among the top factors impacting companies’ ability to recruit skilled labor.
- The time to fill open positions ranges from four to 14 weeks, with senior-level roles demanding the most time.
- Six-in-10 employers estimate at least a quarter of applicants who contact them are not qualified; 31 percent say that more than half are not qualified.
Read more about the rising gap between job opening and skilled workers.
i absolutely agree that it is very difficult to find skilled employees. even if you are willed to pay a high salary… there are just no qualified people. especially in the field of computer science / IT
Not only is skilled labor difficult to find but unskilled labor has a very high turnover rate as well. One might consider turning to the disabled for both skilled and unskilled labor shortages. It’s been proven that persons with a disability make extremely loyal workers who seldom miss work or take sick days and comp time off. There is a vast pool of untapped talent not being utilized to its maximum or for that matter minimum extent possible. Out of the 53 million disabled persons in this country I’m certain if employers weren’t afraid to make reasonable accommodations (at minimal cost) for them to work that they could open up a field of a minimum of 5 million talented young devoted workers who would be the envy of any fortune 500 company. This could also lead to a total overall better retention rate as able bodied workers witnessed the same quality or better work that disabled persons displayed on their work ethics and performance.
Keith-