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US Employers Struggle To Match Workers With Open Jobs (npr.org)

In the United States, there's a record number of jobs open: around 6 million. That's just about one job opening for every officially unemployed person in the country. From a report: Matching the unemployed with the right job is difficult, but there are some things employers could do to improve the odds. Andrew Chamberlain, chief economist for the job site Glassdoor, says U.S. employers often complain that workers don't have the skills needed for the jobs available. That is true for some upper-level health care and technology jobs. "But for the most part, it doesn't look to be like there is a skills gap," Chamberlain says. "That's not the main reason why there are many job openings." Chamberlain says that with unemployment so low and the U.S. labor force growing slowly, there's no doubt it is harder for companies to find workers. But he says if that were the main problem, you would see wages rising more rapidly in the economy -- and that's not the case in many industries. Part of the hiring problem, Chamberlain says, lies in company hiring policies.

14 of 556 comments (clear)

  1. On the Job Training by krisyan · · Score: 5, Informative

    There is on the job training funds (and training funds in general) available through the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act. You can access them by visiting your local Career One Stop or Workforce center. https://www.careeronestop.org/

    1. Re:On the Job Training by sycodon · · Score: 5, Informative

      HR: " We need someone with 5 years experience with Tech A, 10 years with Tech b, and two years with Tech C"

      Recruiter: "Tech C has only been available for 1 year"

      HR: "That's what the manager said"

      Recruiter: "I have someone who's been in the Industry for 30 years, has 10 years in Tech A, 20 years with Tech B, but only six months with Tech C."

      HR: "Sorry, we can't use him."

      Lest you think I jest. I saw this in person.

      --
      When Fascism comes to America, it will call itself Anti-Fascism, and tell you to give up your guns.
    2. Re:On the Job Training by thevirtualcat · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Also fairly common:

      HR: "We need someone with 5 years experience with Tech A, 10 years with Tech b, and two years with Tech C."
      Recruiter/Candidate: "Okay, (we can find that|that's me). What's the rate?"
      HR: "We pay $12/hour. No benefits or overtime."
      Recruiter/Candidate: "Thanks, but no thanks."
      HR: "Woe is us, we can't find anyone to fill this position!"

  2. Alternative Title: by bobstreo · · Score: 5, Insightful

    "US Employers struggle to find workers willing to be paid minimum wage, part time with no benefits."

  3. Ironically, economy not that great by HBI · · Score: 5, Interesting

    150-180k net jobs created per month is not good at all. 300k/month used to be the gold standard for robust growth. The anemic Obama economy got people used to this, but by pre-2008 standards, this is a mild recession right now.

    If the business were out there to justify it, people would be willing to pay higher salaries to lure in workers. The fact they aren't tells you the truth about what I said above - the economy is not that great.

    --
    HBI's Law: Frequency of calling others Nazis is directly correlated with the likelihood of the accuser being Communist.
  4. Employers are full of shit. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

    First, just read the summary.

    Back in '08 when the shit hit the fan, I was told, "Just get a job waiting tables! It'll show that you have gumption!!"

    So, I went to the local bar and grill who was looking for help and applied. Sorry, we need someone who has had at least 5 years of RECENT experience.

    The local landscaper (professional lawn mowing company) asked me, "Do you have experience in this line of work."
    Now, how to answer that. "Uh, how hard is it to mow lawns?!" or "No sir, I do not."

    Well, they are both wrong answers. (BTW, working beneath you skills ruins your career. All those folks who said, "Get a job flipping burgers to pay your mortgage!" were wrong. If you did that, you ruined your career. YOU ARE YOUR LAST JOB. And if that's flipping burgers, then you are a burger flipper - sorry Mr. BS CS. Been there - I know.)

    Tech is even more retarded. I once recommended this brilliant ENGINEER (BS ME - a REAL engineer) who had tons of experience with the company's technology.

    Nope. "Sorry, you don't fit in to our corporate culture."

    Kiss my fucking ass. EVERY company that says they cannot get qualified people are liars. Period.

  5. Re:Drugs by Bozzio · · Score: 5, Insightful

    I can't tell if you're kidding.

    I've been smoking marijuana on and off for almost 20 years now. I'm not addicted, and I've never been tempted to smoke during the work day or even the night before work. My clients have always been happy with my work and past clients even reach out to me asking me to come back (I'm a software contractor). I'm known for being reliable, quick thinking, creative, and productive.

    All that to say: Your idea of what smoking a bit of marijuana is outdated.

    --
    I just pooped your party.
  6. Re:Drugs by king+neckbeard · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Why do you equate "used marijuana within the last weeK" with "drug addict"? Are your opinions based on Reefer Madness?

    --
    This is my signature. There are many like it, but this one is mine.
  7. Did anyone read the article? by StevenMaurer · · Score: 5, Insightful

    I pop in here to the comment section, and read a bunch of people angrily talking about how there really not being an job opening problem, just that "employers are full of shit".

    Here's the thing. That's what the article says. Let me be helpful to you, and quote it:

    Part of the hiring problem, Chamberlain says, lies in company hiring policies.

    Peter Cappelli, a professor at the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School, agrees. He says one problem is that companies are posting openings with required qualifications that aren't really necessary for the job.

    "They're just asking for the moon, and not expecting to pay very much for it," Cappelli says. "And as a result they [can't] find those people. Now that [doesn't] mean there was nobody to do the job; it just [means] that there was nobody at the price they were willing to pay."

    Come on people! Read!

  8. I like the way it was done overseas by IWantMoreSpamPlease · · Score: 5, Insightful

    when I was young. The gov't placed you in a job, and paid for your training/education, and the company got a tax break until you were up to snuff. Kept unemployment low, and people happy.
    I don't see why this can't be done here.

    --
    So rise up, all ye lost ones, as one, we'll claw the clouds.
  9. Re:Drugs by king+neckbeard · · Score: 5, Funny

    Okay...last time I checked, bus adverts were not a particularly reliable source of information.

    --
    This is my signature. There are many like it, but this one is mine.
  10. Re:so stop by bluefoxlucid · · Score: 5, Funny

    I've been drinking soda on and off my whole life.

    Why don't you stop using the Internet and never start again to prove that you're not addicted?

  11. Re:Pay More Money by garcia · · Score: 5, Insightful

    I make a 6 figure salary; it's hard to find jobs which pay more out in total compensation than I make today. That said, paying me more base salary/bonus, at this point in my career, is not even close to important.

    What is important, you ask?

    1. Flexibility
    2. Vacation
    3. Insurance cost
    4. Opportunity
    5. Freedom to operate
    6. Interesting work

    There are others, but you get the general idea. That said, I had a job interview elsewhere, recently, where the recruiter reached out to me and basically begged me to come into speak with them. The position has been open for 11 months and they cannot find anyone. Yeah, the pay is lower than I make today and the insurance is 2x the cost, but the real problem was that it was an institution where there was no flexibility or freedom to operate. They wanted something done to solve their problems but had a very narrow allowed view on how that could occur.

    Just like others who likely passed before me, it was probably due to the environment, not the pay. At some point, money stops being a motivator.

  12. The myth that employers care... by zarmanto · · Score: 5, Insightful

    If corporations cared at all about unemployment, they already know exactly what they could do to remedy that problem: Let the cream rise to the top. That is to say, offer additional training to existing highly skilled employees, so that they can easily qualify for the next job up the ladder, and then move them up. Then fill the now vacant lower level jobs with people who are presently unemployed and living on the street (or in their parents basement). The newly hired wage earners will be thrilled just to have a job at all, and won't be quite as picky about how much they're earning, and the highly skilled workers will be thrilled to get the raise, and to be recognized for their contributions.

    The problem, as I see it, is that far too many companies are more interested in the bottom line than in anything else. And one of the easiest ways to turn a profit is (and always has been) to milk existing employees for all that they're worth for as long as possible, and make them do tasks above their pay level, because they "can't find anyone qualified for that position, right now"... which basically causes that old adage, "You have to move out to move up," to become a self-fulfilling prophecy. I've moved out because of that, myself. If you're in the workforce at all, you've probably done it, too.

    And here's where it gets even more frustrating: the "requirements" for any given position do not remain static. It's quite common for employers to adjust the requirements based upon the skillset of the person who just left that position. "Hey, Ralph became a freaking genius at SharePoint while he was working for us. We can't possibly hire someone who knows less than him, now! Change that job req for his position to include senior SharePoint experience, okay? Years of experience? I dunno... how long did Ralph work here? That long? Really?"

    And thus, the position that Ralph left -- specifically because he was being underpaid for the skills he'd gained over his years there -- is now entirely un-fillable. Because nobody with those skills would take the job, at the offered pay.

    Employers shoot themselves in the foot like that, all too often. My previous employer did it, too... that's why they're my previous employer. And over the past few weeks, I've sat by and watched as my up-line supervisor is being run through the beginnings of the scenario I've described above... so I would imagine she's currently evaluating her options.

    The wheel turns, and the cycle repeats itself.