Manpower's Annual 10 Hardest Jobs To Fill Survey Finds Four Years of Similar Data Points to Gaps in the U.S. Workforce

Even in the midst of the biggest "buyer's market" in decades, these are the posiitons found to be most difficult to fill nationwide, according to Manpower:

MILWAUKEE, May 28 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Engineers, Nurses and Skilled/Manual Trades are among the nation's most challenging positions to fill, according to survey findings released today by Manpower Inc.

"In the four years we have performed this research, the same positions appear on the list again and again," said Jonas Prising, President of the Americas. "Despite the current economic instability and high unemployment, there are still skills that the U.S. workforce seems to lack."

The 10 Hardest Jobs to Fill, as reported by U.S. employers for 2009, are:

Engineers
Nurses
Skilled/Manual Trades
Teachers
Sales Representatives
Technicians
Drivers
IT Staff
Laborers
Machinist/Machine Operators

Each of the 10 job categories on the 2009 list has appeared on the Hardest Jobs to Fill list in the past. Technicians, Machinist/Machine Operators and Sales Representatives have been present all four years. Engineers, Drivers and Laborers have appeared three out of four years; and Nurses, Teachers, Skilled/Manual Trades and IT Staff have been present in two of the four years Manpower has performed the survey.

Even with unemployment at or near record levels in many communities, Manpower's research highlights the problem many employers are having finding individuals with the right combination of job-specific skills, experience, training and soft skills.

"While talk has slowed in the U.S. about the pending talent shortage, it is becoming more clear that there is a talent disconnect," said Melanie Holmes, vice president, world of work solutions for Manpower North America. "Our workforce needs to be more open to retraining and upskilling for jobs that are in demand. And, our government, business leaders and educational facilities need to take action together to ensure students are being enticed to enter these fields."

The U.S. findings are part of a Manpower global study that surveyed more than 39,000 employers across 33 countries and territories in January 2009. Positions in the skilled trades, sales, technical work and engineering remain the most difficult for employers to fill globally. Manpower surveyed more than 2,000 U.S. employers in the fourth annual survey to determine which positions employers are having difficulty filling this year.

Manpower Employment Survey Shows Pittsburgh Will not decline in Hiring Activity in Fourth Quarter From Third Quarter, 2008

While nationwide Manpower Survey shows broad decline for fourth quarter hiring plans, Pittsburgh should continue to weather the storm. Though down from year ago levels, quarter to quarter hiring activity should remain the same. Here is the complete news release:

Favorable Job Market Expected for Pittsburgh
September 9, 2008 – Pittsburgh area employers expect to hire at a steady pace during the fourth quarter of 2008, according to the Manpower Employment Outlook Survey.

From October to December, 27% of the companies interviewed plan to hire more employees, while 10% expect to reduce their payrolls, according to Manpower
spokesperson Kelly M. Scott. Another 58% expect to maintain their current staff levels and
5% are not certain of their hiring plans.

“Employers anticipate staff levels to be similar to the third quarter of 2008 when 29% of companies interviewed intended to add employees, and 10% planned to reduce staff levels,” said Scott. “Compared to one year ago when 36% of companies surveyed planned to increase staff levels and 10% expected to cut payrolls, hiring intentions for the fourth quarter are weaker.”

For the coming quarter, job prospects appear best in Durable Goods Manufacturing,
Transportation/Public Utilities and Wholesale/Retail Trade. Employers in Education and Public Administration plan to reduce staffing levels, while those in Services voice mixed hiring intentions. Hiring in Construction, Non-Durable Goods Manufacturing and Finance/Insurance/Real Estate is expected to remain unchanged.

Of the 14,000 employers surveyed in the U.S., 22% expect to increase their staff levels during the October – December period, while 13% expect to reduce their payrolls, resulting in a Net Employment Outlook of 9%. Fifty-nine percent expect no change in hiring and 6% are undecided about their Quarter 4 2008 hiring plans.

The next Manpower Employment Outlook Survey will be released on December 9, 2008 to report hiring expectations for Quarter 1 2009.

Pittsburgh Area Manpower Survey Gives Pittsburgh’s Job Market an “A”

35% of Pittsburgh area employers plan to expand payrolls in the 2nd quarter, according to the Manpower Employment Outlook Survey released today. Only 5% plan to reduce payrolls, according to Manpower spokesperson Kelly Scott.

“Compared with the first quarter of 2008 when 20% of companies interviewed intended to add employees, and 15% planned to reduce staff levels, area hiring levels appear to be stronger,” said Scott. “Employers are more optimistic about hiring activity as compared to one year ago, when 29% of companies surveyed planned to increase staff levels and 9% expected to cut payrolls.”

For the coming quarter, job prospects appear best in Construction, Durable Goods Manufacturing, Finance/Insurance/Real Estate and Services. Employers in Transportation/ Public Utilities and Wholesale/Retail Trade voice mixed hiring intentions. Hiring in Non-Durable Goods Manufacturing, Education and Public Administration is expected to remain unchanged.

Pittsburgh Employment Picture Still Good For 1st Quarter 2008

According to the quarterly Manpower Survey on hiring manager’s recruitment expectations, Pittsburgh is about even with last year, with 23% of hiring managers expecting to increase staff levels, While 15% expect to decrease. One year ago the numbers were 23% and 13%.
However, this reflects a large decrease in hiring plans from the 4th quarter survey where 36% expected to increase staff.

How have the surveys actually reflected reality? This has varied quite a bit but generally has proven useful in predicting overall increases or decreases in activity.

We at The Employment Guide are seeing recruitment levels in the hourly arena slightly slower than last year for fourth quarter but still remaining historically strong.

Top 10 Most Difficult Jobs to Fill Include Many in the Hourly Realm

The one glaring fact that stands out most when looking at this year’s Manpower index of most difficult jobs to fill is that the majority of them are hourly positions and most do not require a 4 year college degree. Sales people lead off the list for the second year in a row. From what we hear in Pittsburgh this runs in all sales categories from entry level retail up to sales Engineers and Pharmaceuticals. Also mirroring what we see in Pittsburgh are the dire need for qualified auto mechanics. Many dealers are in a position to limit their service hours because they cannot find enough mechanics to handle the workload they are seeing in their shops.
A large part of the reason for this national phenomena is the same as we are seeing here as well. The start of the Baby Boomers reaching retirement age. Too many of our young workers have been brought up in a go to college or you’ll die mentality. Not enough have given thought to a career in what used to be considered either dirty or menial work that didn’t pay well. All of those old perceptions are long gone.

Here is the article from Manpower as posted on MarketWatch:

SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Sales representatives, teachers and mechanics are the top three jobs for which employers are struggling to find workers, according to a survey released Thursday by Manpower Inc.

Overall, 41% of firms surveyed said they're struggling to find qualified workers for
at least one position, according to the survey of 2,400 U.S. firms.
The survey asked each company, "Are you having difficulty filling jobs due to
lack of available talent?" If they said yes, the survey asked, "What is the one job you are having the most difficulty filling?"

Sales representatives topped the list. That category includes retail sales and
business-to-business sales, but not telemarketers, said Melanie Holmes, vice
president of corporate affairs at Manpower, in a telephone interview.
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics "projects that an additional 736,000 retail
sales people and an additional 187,000 sales representatives are going to be
required by 2014," she said.
Teachers, the No. 2 job most in need of filling in the survey, includes elementary
and post-secondary teachers, she said, noting the BLS projects an additional
need for 524,000 post-secondary teachers and 265,000 elementary-school
teachers by 2014.
Third on the list, mechanics, including automotive service technicians, diesel
service technicians, small engine mechanics, aircraft and avionics equipment
mechanics and industrial machinery repair. Overall, among mechanics, "more people are retiring than replacement workers are coming in and doing apprenticeships and doing the training they need," she said.

Demand driven partly by lack of skills

Changes in the labor pool are affecting firms' ability to find workers, Holmes said.
"Demographics are not in employers' favor," she said. "Because of retiring baby
boomers and the fact that birth rates are not keeping up with those that are
retiring."

Another reason: Job seekers lack sought-after skills. "There might be people, but
they don't have the skills that are necessary," Holmes said.
"As with many things these days, the world of work changes so quickly and so
dramatically. If we're not very careful to keep our skills up-to-date as an individual, and as an employer if I'm not working to keep my workforce's skills up-to-date, people can become redundant," she said.

"The message is not just for people looking for jobs, but for all of us: We need to
keep our skills up-to-date [and] pay attention to the changing world of work,"
Holmes said. "We need to be very careful to take charge of our own careers and
not expect somebody else to hand-feed us what we need. We need to look
around and get the training or experience that we need to keep up."

Nurses drop off Top 10 list

Sales representatives topped the list of hardest-to-fill jobs for the second year in
a row, while teachers and mechanics replaced engineers and nurses/health-care
workers in the second- and third-place positions this year, according to the
survey. But "even though some jobs fell off the top 10 list, demand for these positions still exists," said Jonas Prising, president of Manpower North America, in a press release.

Here's the Top 10 list:
1. Sales representative
2. Teacher
3. Mechanic
4. Technician
5. Management/executive
6. Truck driver
7. Driver/delivery
8. Accountant
9. Laborer
10. Machine operator