Skills shortages reported by employers

Almost a third of employers across the world are struggling to find workers with the right skills for the job, according to new research.

Some 31% of companies are complaining of a skills shortage and while this percentage has fallen by 10% over the last year, it is still an issue that concerns many.

Manpower reported serious shortages in skilled manual workers, sales representatives and technical workers in production, operations, engineering and maintenance.

IT jobs also reappeared in the top ten hardest-to-fill positions, after disappearing from the list in 2007.

Jeffrey A Joerres, Manpower Chairman and Chief Executive, said: 'There is no magic formula - employers and governments must continue to look for new ways of recruiting, training, managing and retaining their current employees.'

The findings follow recent research by Hotonline Network, published in Online Recruitment magazine, which revealed that the majority of job hunters (84%) felt positive about job prospects in 2008.