Employment Trends Up in Temporary Help Services

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Reports 26,000 Temporary Jobs Added in May. ManpowerGroup the world leader in innovative workforce solutions, advises employers to build sustainable local talent pipelines through collaborative partnerships to overcome talent shortages, as the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that the overall May jobless rate was 7.6% and 26,000 temporary jobs were added.

“Employers need to invest in creative solutions to have access to the skilled talent they need for future growth, and we’re seeing more and more employers focusing on building training centers and offering internships and apprenticeships to develop those technical qualifications and workplace competencies that are lacking among many job seekers today,” said Jonas Prising, ManpowerGroup President. “In the end, collaboration between government, academic institutions and employers is the answer to developing training and education strategies that are critical to providing a sustainable talent pipeline for the future.”

ManpowerGroup’s 2013 Talent Shortage study reveals that 39% of U.S. employers are having difficulty finding staff with the right skills, down from 49% in 2012. This year-over-year improvement indicates a willingness on behalf of U.S. employers to invest in existing employees to help them advance, and in sourcing new skilled talent – to avoid the strain of the talent shortage.

The U.S. Talent Shortage rate for 2013 is 4 percentile points above the ManpowerGroup global average.  According to the survey, nearly half (49%) of U.S. employers recognize that talent shortages impact their ability to serve clients and customers. Among the more than 1,000 U.S. employers surveyed, respondents say they have difficulty filling open positions because candidates lack technical competencies/hard skills (48%); candidates lack workplace competencies/soft skills (33%); and because of a lack of/no available candidates (32%).

According to the 2013 Talent Shortage data, U.S. employers are adopting new people practices by:

• Providing additional training and development to existing staff – 23%
• Redefining qualifying criteria to include people without formal qualifications – 15%
• Increasing starting salaries – 11%

And, U.S. employers seek new talent sources by:

• Adapting talent sourcing to recruit more from untapped talent pools – 20%
• Appointing people who don’t have the skills currently, but do have potential to learn and grow – 18%
• Partnering with academic institutions to create curriculum aligned to talent needs – 8%

U.S. employers report that skilled trades positions are the most difficult to fill, the fourth consecutive year this job has topped the list. The top 10 hardest jobs to fill are:

ManpowerGroup’s insight paper, The Great Talent Shortage Awakening: Actions to Take for a Sustainable Workforce, examines strategies HR leaders can pursue to fuel their organization’s competitiveness for years to come. These include identifying and attracting untapped talent, creating a culture of talent development, implementing a Teachable Fit framework to manufacture talent aligned with business needs, and improving collaboration with academic institutions to ensure graduates are work ready.