Survey: Harder for Employers to Fill Jobs

COM15AE_3_23_16_PieChart_US65% Say “Difficult” to Recruit and Hire; Difficulty Increasing as Unemployment Rate Drops

Express Employment Professionals recently released new survey results revealing the increasing difficulty that employers face when trying to recruit and fill positions.

The findings come from a survey of 340 businesses. Respondents were asked, “Currently, how easy is it for you to recruit and fill positions?”

Only three percent said “very easy,” while 29% said “somewhat easy.” Almost half, 49%, said “somewhat difficult,” 16% said “very difficult,” and another 3% said, “I don’t know.”

More respondents said “very difficult” or “somewhat difficult” (65%) in this survey than in any of the four hiring trends surveys conducted by Express in 2015. The increase in reported difficulty corresponds with the decrease in the unemployment rate.

“With the unemployment rate declining and more people headed back to work, it’s not so surprising that companies are finding it a little harder to fill open positions,” said Bob Funk, CEO of Express and a former chairman of the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City.

“Of course, we still have plenty of people who want jobs—and others who have given up looking altogether. Part of the difficulty has been that the people who want to work may not have the skills that employers need.”

The survey of 340 businesses, which are current and former clients of Express Employment Professionals, covers hiring trends for the first quarter of 2016.

Refresh Leadership is brought to you by Express Employment Professionals.

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