One of the number one complaints today is that people "can't get a job." The economy is still hurting, and it shows by the percentage of the population which is unemployed. However, employers also report that they are experiencing difficulty with the hiring process.
According to a survey done last year by the staffing firm Manpower Group, "More than half of U.S. employers said they were having trouble filling job openings because they couldn't find qualified workers. That's a huge 38 percentage point jump from 2010, when only 14 percent said they were having trouble filling positions."
There are several possible reasons for this. The jobless who are currently receiving unemployment benefits have less incentive to search for work. Many are willing to settle for the smaller benefit payments, at least for a short period of time. They may have lost hope or just simply don't have the energy to seek out work. Also, many homeowners cannot move for a job, as the real-estate crash has left them owing even more money on their homes than they are actually worth.
Unemployment benefits make potential workers less likely to take whatever job comes along, especially when those jobs don't pay much. For example, Michael Hatchell, a 52-year-old mechanic in Lumberton, N.C., says he turned down more than a dozen offers during his 59 weeks of unemployment. The job offers didn't pay more than the $450 a week he was collecting in benefits, so why would he accept? Hatchell received an offer from an auto-parts store paying $7.75 an hour, which amounts to only $310 a week for 40 hours. "I was not going to put myself in a situation where I was making that small of a wage," says Hatchell.
The recession has, in a way, spoiled employers. The high unemployment rate left those hiring with the idea that they really didn't have to look too hard when hiring/interviewing. It also gave them the idea that they could cut back on money and/or benefits. It should also be noted that during the crisis, many companies cut "middle-wage" jobs. This cut effectively created a group of people who don't qualify for jobs that are considered "highly-skilled" and can't adjust to lower-paying work.
Temporary jobs are on the rise in the past few years, mainly because they offer no long-term commitment. Temporary jobs have increased 21% since September 2009. More employers are currently hiring through staffing agencies in order to keep control over health-care costs and maintain flexibility.
Steven J Davis, a professor at the University of Chicago's Booth School of Business, tracks "recruiting intensity per vacancy," in other words, it's a measure of how hard employers are looking for the right employees. He reported that recruiting intensity declined a lot at the onset of the financial crisis in 2008, and has recovered only partly as the economy has improved. He stated that "With the economic recovery still so weak, maybe most employers don't feel a great sense of urgency in order to increase their ranks."
Some employers compare today's hiring process to looking for a needle in a haystack. It's almost like workers and employers are on either side of a rope; employees fight for benefits and job security, and employers are trying to reduce costs and cut workers they no longer need.
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