Tenth year of survey reveals proportion of employers struggling to fill jobs at seven-year high
ManpowerGroup (NYSE: MAN), the world leader in innovative workforce solutions, urges businesses to act differently to attract and retain in-demand talent, as the company's 10th annual Talent Shortage Survey, released today, reveals that skills shortages around the world show no signs of abating.
The highest proportion of global employers since before the recession cannot find the talent they need — 38% of 41,700 hiring managers in 42 countries and territories — and more than one in five employers is still not pursuing any strategy to overcome talent shortages, despite the negative impact on their business.
"There is a bifurcation of the workforce, between those who have the skills employers need, and those who have not. Talent shortages are a real problem hurting organizations' competitiveness; from the data we've gathered and the structural changes we can see coming in the labor markets, we know the problem is only going to get worse," said Jonas Prising, ManpowerGroup CEO. "Talent is the strategic differentiator and action is needed now, so CEOs can ensure their company's talent strategy strengthens and delivers the business strategy."
Employers in Japan continue to report the greatest difficulty filling vacancies (83%), while those in Peru (68%), Hong Kong 65%), Brazil (61%) and Romania (61%) also experience high levels of talent shortages. Greek employers (59%) also report a significant uptick despite the nation's ongoing economic challenges.
More than half of global employers (54%) say talent shortages are having a serious negative impact on their ability to meet client needs. Consequences include reduced competitiveness / productivity (42%), increased employee turnover (30%) and low employee engagement / morale (26%). When asked why they are struggling to fill certain jobs, employers cite a lack of available applicants, a lack of technical skills, a lack of experience and a lack of employability or "soft" skills.
Skilled trades positions are the jobs employers globally have the greatest difficulty filling for the fourth consecutive year, topping the list in 27 countries and territories. The second most difficult-to-fill job is sales representatives, moving up the rankings from fourth place in 2014. Driver vacancies are becoming more difficult to fill, with the category moving up the rankings from 10th in 2014 to fifth position this year.
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The most-widely adopted strategies to address talent shortages are people-based practices such as providing additional training and development to staff — 39% of employers who are proactively tackling the problem are using this approach. More than one in five (22%) is exploring new talent sources. Of those implementing alternative work models (18%), the largest proportion are increasing their focus on their talent pipeline, such as identifying high-potential employees and building a succession management approach.
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