We could think of the US labor markets as consisting of two distinct pools of workers: skilled and unskilled. And while the unskilled workers are leaving the labor force, the skilled labor market is starting to tighten. Thats part of the reason for the persistent mismatch between job openings and the unemployment/marginal employment rate – the so-called Beveridge Curve. Many openings represent roles that are specialized – particularly in sectors such as healthcare – and can not be easily filled even with vast numbers of Americans in need of work.
And US firms increasingly need workers that are highly specialized – in part because “commoditized” labor skills can be obtained cheaper offshore. This means that we could have wage increases across a number of sectors, particularly in urban areas – in spite of the declining participation rate. We saw signs of that in the rising unit labor costs last quarter, which came as a surprise to some economists.
Chosen excerpts by Job Market Monitor. Read the whole story at Labor Force Participation And The Skills Gap In America | Investing.com.
Related Posts
Skills Gap in US Manufacturing – 75 percent of manufacturers surveyed report a moderate to severe shortage of skilled resources
A new Accenture manufacturing and skills study, completed in collaboration with The Manufacturing Institute, looks at the skills shortage in the US manufacturing industry and what actions manufacturing companies can take to address this impediment to growth. Our study includes survey responses from more than 300 executives from a diverse range of US manufacturing companies. … Continue reading
US Skills Gap / Who’s to blame for it ?
New data suggest that although many companies continue to complain about the so-called skills gap, few are taking steps to fix it. Continue reading
US Skills Gap / The Labor Market Polarization
the decline in the share of workers in middle-skill jobs is due both to a decline in inflows into these jobs and because of a rise in outflows from these jobs research finds Continue reading
US Skills Gap / 39 percent employers are having difficulty finding staff with the right skills finds ManpowerGroup
ManpowerGroup has released the results of its eighth annual Talent Shortage Survey, revealing 39 percent of U.S. employers are having difficulty finding staff with the right skills, down from 49 percent in 2012. U.S. employers report a slightly more pronounced talent shortage than their global peers, 35 percent of whom report difficulty finding the right … Continue reading
US Skills Gap / Builders can’t find enough qualified workers
U.S. builders and the subcontractors they depend on are struggling to hire fast enough to meet rising demand for new homes. Builders would be starting work on more homes — and contributing more to the economy — if they could fill more job openings. In the meantime, workers in the right locations with the right … Continue reading
US Skills Gap / What if these assumptions are all wrong?
It is conventional wisdom that the United States is suffering from a severe skills shortage, for which low-performing public schools and inadequate teachers must shoulder part of the blame (see here and here, for example). Employers complain that they cannot fill open slots because there are no Americans skilled enough to fill them, while pundits … Continue reading
U.S. employers are having trouble finding workers with the needed skills in science, technology, engineering and math, a top Federal Reserve official said on Monday. “We are seeing a mismatch of skills in the workforce and the jobs that are being created,” Philadelphia Fed President Charles Plosser said of the so-called STEM-trained workers who are … Continue reading
Skills Gap in US – It could compromise competitiveness manufacturers say
American manufacturers are increasingly finding that prospective workers do not have the skill set required to perform necessary job functions, such as basic math and computer abilities. The so-called “skills gap,” if unresolved, could compromise manufacturers’ ability to stay competitive, according to some industry leaders. The cause of the gap is multifaceted. Manufacturing activity has increased in the U.S. … Continue reading
Close the Skills Gap in US – Why are apprenticeships in decline?
Apprenticeships can offer a precise match between the skills employers want and the training workers receive, says Robert Lerman, an economics professor at American University. “It’s a great model for transferring skills from one generation to the next,” says John Ladd, director of the Department of Labor’s Office of Apprenticeship. Nevertheless, according to the Labor … Continue reading
Skills Gap in US – We need to kill this zombie writes Krugman
The point is that influential people move in circles in which repeating the skills-gap story — or, better yet, writing about skill gaps in media outlets like Politico — is a badge of seriousness, an assertion of tribal identity. And the zombie shambles on. Unfortunately, the skills myth — like the myth of a looming … Continue reading
The Skills Gap in US – Mismatch across industries and occupations explains at most one-third of the total observed increase in the unemployment rate
Aysegul Sahin, Joseph Song, Giorgio Topa and Giovanni L. Violante develop a framework where mismatch between vacancies and job seekers across sectors translates into higher unemployment by lowering the aggregate job-finding rate in Mismatch Unemployment (Federal Reserve Bank of New York Staff Reports ). They use this framework to measure the contribution of mismatch to the recent rise … Continue reading
Skills Gap in US / A barrier to growth for 25 percent of the private companies
Overall, U.S. CEO confidence is improving in 2014, but one area where optimism continues to lag behind is in finding a qualified workforce. According to the latest PricewaterhouseCoopers Private Company Trendsetter Barometer, 57 percent of companies plan to hire in 2014, but over 25 percent of the private companies surveyed cited finding qualified workers as … Continue reading
Biden and the Skills Gap in US / 47 overlapping programs in 2009 says GOP
More than 10 million Americans are jobless, but about 4 million jobs were unfilled at the end of November, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Many economists and industry experts attribute the disparity to a gap between workers\’ skills and the skills employers need. “There are plenty of jobs out there, and there’s a … Continue reading
Discussion
Trackbacks/Pingbacks
Pingback: Polarization in US – The declining prominence of middle-skill jobs | Job Market Monitor - June 10, 2014
Pingback: An Updated Look at the Beveridge Curve: A Step Away from Normal – Real Time Economics – WSJ | Job Market Monitor - June 16, 2014
Pingback: The Beveridge Curve in US – A worsening | Job Market Monitor - June 16, 2014
Pingback: Mismatches in US – Something happened in 2008 | Job Market Monitor - June 26, 2014
Pingback: IT – Jobs being matched with job seekers less efficiently than in the past | Job Market Monitor - July 15, 2014
Pingback: Skills Gap in US – Sixty-one percent says it exists but not me! | Job Market Monitor - September 17, 2014
Pingback: Skills Gap in US – The next generation of workers won’t be able to fill the void | Job Market Monitor - March 5, 2016