Worldwide Talent Shortage Creating Fierce Competition

June 24, 2008 (PLANSPONSOR.com) - The worldwide shortage of skilled workers in certain industries is creating fierce competition for talent among countries.

The Manpower 2008 Borderless Workforce Survey reveals 31% of employers worldwide are concerned about the impact on the labor market from talent leaving their country to go and work in another country, according to a press release. That concern was greatest in Peru (82%), Argentina (66%), South Africa (65%), Taiwan (64%), and India (57%), and was expressed the least by employers in China (1%), Ireland (7%), Japan (12%), and Switzerland (12%).

Fourteen percent of employers in the U.S. said they were concerned about the impact on their labor markets resulting from talent leaving their country to work in another country, the press release said.

Only 15% of employers worldwide think governments and businesses are doing enough to slow the outward migration of talent and attract these people back to their country. Of U.S. survey respondents, 68% indicated they do not think the government is doing enough to keep talent in the country.

According to the announcement, the top 10 jobs that employers are filling with foreign talent across the 27 countries and territories surveyed are:

1. Laborers

2. Engineers

3. Production Operators

4. Technicians

5. IT Staff

6. Sales Representatives

7. Administrative Assistants / PAs

8. Customer Service Representatives

9. Senior Executives / Board Members

10. Accounting&Finance Staff

The survey found the countries primarily losing talent to other countries are China, the U.S., India, the U.K., and Germany. Substituting Japan for Germany provides the list of the top countries employers believe provide the biggest competitive threat to their own country’s ability to compete economically.

Manpower Inc. surveyed over 28,000 employers across 27 countries and territories.

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