Dive Brief:
- Bloomberg reports that the National Association for Business Economics (NABE) has released the July 2017 Business Conditions Survey, which shows a rapid increase in the number of companies struggling to find talent. NABE polled 101 industry economists.
- The survey revealed 34% of those polled were having trouble hiring skilled employees during 2017 Q2; up from 27% in Q1. Patrick Jankowski, a Houston-based survey analyst, told Bloomberg that there is a growing pressure to hire candidates who fit the qualifications for jobs in the oil and construction industries. and without good hires, companies cannot pull in full profits.
- To improve hiring, companies are boosting pay, increasing internal training, sponsoring more foreign workers and hiring more independent contractors. Despite the costs associated with these efforts and current shortages in talent, 60% of the economists polled said they expected the GDP to grow by at least 2% over the coming year.
Dive Insight:
The NABE survey is one of many that indicate that the nation is struggling with talent shortages across many industries. It is hopeful, however, that companies are stepping up efforts to train and compensate employees better. Perhaps this is a wakeup call to those who haven't taken a good look at labor improvements for some time.
The growing gig economy includes talented individuals who got tired of ill treatment by employers or were displaced during the recent recession, so now is a good time to reach out to those independent contractors for support. There is a large pool of talent that can augment current labor needs while companies fight to remain competitive, and this can be a cost-effective way to manage projects and processes.
