Skills Gap in US – Data from the LinkedIn Economic Graph

Using data from the LinkedIn Economic Graph, our new skills gaps analytics can identify and quantify skills gaps at scale to help professionals and employers plan for the future.

So what exactly is the data telling us? This may come as no surprise, but there’s a shortage of professionals with some of the most in-demand digital skills in the world right now, such as Python and Java development. What is surprising however, is that soft skills are in equally high demand as these technical skills and they’re facing the largest scarcity in the country. Equally as essential are basic digital literacy skills, which are also facing widespread shortages in some of the United States’ largest tech hubs including San Francisco, Seattle, Boston and New York City. Let’s dive deeper into what this means for you.

You’ve heard it before and we’ll say it again: soft skills matter. They’re often overlooked in today’s society, but are the skills that are least susceptible to artificial intelligence or robots. Some of the country’s fastest-growing roles – sales development, customer success, and customer experience roles – are largely soft skills-based. The U.S. is short 1.4 million professionals with soft skills, with communication as the #1 skill in demand in all 100 metros we analyzed. This could be detrimental to the economy as a whole as nearly every job is looking for professionals with these types of skills. The good news is we have LinkedIn Learning courses to help workers learn skills like communication, reasoning, and working in teams.

• Jobs hiring for these skills: Sales Representative, Software Engineer, Project Manager
• Companies hiring for these skills include: Amazon, EY, PWC

Basic digital literacy is critical for the modern workforce. And interestingly enough, professionals with these skills are distributed across the U.S., but they’re still in high demand in cities deemed to be on the “cutting edge” of today’s economy such as Washington, D.C., San Francisco and New York, all of which are facing a shortage of professionals with these skills. However, our data shows that there are many major cities with intense surpluses – like Detroit, Miami and Atlanta – meaning these professionals may want to relocate to cities where their skills are needed. As the shift to jobs and companies that rely heavily on digital skills continues, professionals should consider taking courses that teach them skills like Microsoft Office, email, and typing.

Chosen excerpts by Job Market Monitor. Read the whole story at The U.S. Is Facing a Critical Skills Shortage, Reskilling Can Be Part of the Solution | Official LinkedIn Blog