It’s not there aren’t good jobs – it’s that there aren’t good candidates:
Durham, N.C. — U.S. job openings are at a record high of 5.8 million, and a new survey from Duke University provides a key reason: Employers say they can’t find workers with required skills for many openings. As a result, employers are planning to boost pay in an attempt to find workers. They also continue to push for more foreign workers through high-tech visas known as H-1Bs. The risks of a workers’ skills gap? A less competitive U.S. economy, and companies might be forced to relocate overseas if they can’t find workers here, warns a Duke economics professor.
*Mostly they are saying they can’t find employees with the required skills,” Duke finance professor John Graham tells WRAL TechWire, referring to the just-released Duke-CFO Global Business Outlook survey.
It’s just not high-tech, either. Graham says companies need more mechanics, more people who can work in the “trades” like welders.
Affirming U.S. government data released Wednesday about the millions of open jobs, 93 percent of companies participating in the Duke survey say they have job openings.
Why? Finding talent.
This problem existed in the low employment years in the 90s, and it was solved by allowing immigrants who were willing to learn a trade to come. Immigration, mostly from Mexico, really kept the economy humming. I would think that could represent a good pool of workers who would love those kind of jobs, especially as unemployment continues to decline overall and more workers are needed.