Annual Survey Reveals Talent Shortages Continue Despite Current Economy

Manpower, a world leader in the employment services industry surveyed nearly 39,000 employers across 33 countries and territories in the first quarter of 2009 to determine the extent to which talent shortages are impacting today's labor markets. The results of the fourth annual Talent Shortage Survey revealed that 30 percent of employers worldwide continue to struggle to fill positions available despite the global economic downturn.

In the Americas, the survey shows that 36 percent of the region's employers are having difficulty filling positions due to the lack of suitable talent available in their markets. This is an increase of eight percentage points when compared to the 2008 survey and is six percentage points greater than the global average.

Vacancies for technicians are the most difficult to fill in the Americas for the second year in succession. After not appearing among the Top 10 hard-to-fill positions in the 2008 survey, employers are identifying Accounting & Finance positions as the third most difficult to fill.

The top 10 jobs that employers are having difficulty filling across the 33 countries and territories surveyed are (ranked in order):

Vacancies for technicians are the most difficult to fill for the second year in succession. After not appearing among the top 10 hard-to-fill positions in the 2008 survey, employers are identifying Accounting & Finance positions as the third most difficult to fill. Details of the report are accessible here.