2023

GlobalTalent
Shortage
Global Talent Shortage Reaches a 17-Year-High
Nearly 4 in 5 employers globally report difficultyfinding the skilled talent they need in 2023,
strengthening +2 percentage points year-over-year
and more than double the difficulty in 2015 (38%).

50% 45% 54%

35% 36% 38%
2013

2014

2015

2016

2018

77%

69% 75%

2019

2021

2022

2023

Talent Scarcity Around the World
Employers report difficulty filling open roles with the biggest impacts being felt in Taiwan, Germany, and Hong Kong.
Taiwan90%

France80%

Italy

75%

Germany86%

India

80%

US75%

Hong Kong

85%

Spain

80%

Norway74%

Portugal

84%

UK

80%

The Netherlands

73%

Puerto Rico

Australia
Canada79%
79%

GuatemalaSingapore

83%
83%

Poland72%
72%

Hungary82%

Argentina

78%

Türkiye72%

Austria

81%

Japan

78%

Costa Rica

71%

China

Global Average

77%

Peru

Finland

81%
81%

Greece77%

Mexico70%
69%

Ireland81%

Sweden77%

Slovakia

68%

Romania81%

Israel76%

Czech Republic

66%

Belgium

80%
80%South Africa

76%
76%

Panama65%
64%

BrazilSwitzerland

Colombia

Skillsets Employers are Seeking Most
Human strengths stand out in the digital age.

Top 5 Soft Skills
1 | Reliability & Self-Discipline

Top 5 Technical Skills

29%

1 | IT & Data27%

2 | Creativity & Originality 26%

2 | Engineering 22%

3 | Critical Thinking & Analysis 26%

3 | Sales & Marketing 20%

4 | Reasoning & Problem-Solving 26%

4 | Operations & Logistics 19%

5 | Resilience & Adaptability 26%

5 | Customer Facing & Front Ofﬁce 17%

Talent Shortages Across Industries
From Communication Services to Energy & Utilities, employers cannot find the skilled talent they need.

79%

79%

+78%

++Energy& Utilities

Communication
Services+78%

Health Care &Life Sciences

Information
Technology+77%

ConsumerGoods &Services

How Employers are
Addressing the Skills Gap+77%+76%

Industrials& Materials

Transport,Logistics &Automotive+73%

Financials& Real Estate

Overcoming Talent Shortages
Nearly 3 in 5 organizations (57%) plan
to offer more flexibility in when or whereto work as talent scarcity grows.

Organizations are planning to invest in
their people more than ever before.

offering more ﬂexibility about% WHEN (part-time, ﬂexible hours) andWHERE (location, hybrid, remote)are upskilling & reskilling% their current workforce

7157

plan on ﬁlling new,
51% permanent roles

33% within the IT industry (37%)

increasing wages, especiallylooking at new talent pools

33% (mature workers, etc.)

report investing in more

43% technology to augment processes

26% offering joining bonuses
will bring in more contract

37% or temporary roles

24% prioritizing automation for
select tasks/processes

4%

have no plans for any of the above

18% reducing qualiﬁcation requirements

Cross-Border Teams Bridging Talent Gaps
As hiring demand continues despite growing talent scarcity, over half (55%) of employers are willingto hire internationally, although most are not planning to accelerate this.

31% hiring internationally,

the same as usual

55% of

13% looking to hire

employers arewilling to hireoutside of
their borders
for talent

33% only hire

domesticallymore foreign talent,
especially within the ITand Communications
Services industries

11% are not hiring

11% Plan to hirein the next 9 months

fewer workers overseas

A Holistic Talent Strategy
To keep pace, an effective talent strategy should comprise a mix of four key elements:

Build
Invest in learningand development
to grow yourtalent pipeline

Buy
Go to the externalmarket to attract
talent that can’t
be built in-house

Borrow

BridgeCultivatecommunities oftalent outside theorganization

Help people
move on or move up
to new roles within
the organization

ManpowerGroup surveyed nearly 39,000 employers across
41 countries. Explore the data at manpowergroup.com/talentshortage

Stay Connected: