Workforce Availability

Workforce Availability to Remain a Serious Problem for Years to Come
A few quick facts about why the labor shortage will get worse rather than better.

Conditions in the job market have made it increasingly difficult to recruit qualified workers. In fact, there is a looming crisis in workforce availability in the United States that will affect organizations for decades to come.

Everywhere you turn, there are warning signals:

1. The nation's unemployment rate is the lowest it's been since 1970, making it difficult for employers to find qualified workers. At 4.4% in February of 1999, the national unemployment rate was well below the roughly 5% that economists have long considered "full employment".

2. Time magazine noted in its May 10th, 1999 issue that the birth rate per 1,000 Americans is at its lowest level since the government began keeping records in 1909. This ensures a tight job market for decades to come.

3. The March 11, 1999 issue of Electronic Recruiting News stated that for the 15 years beginning in 2000, the number of available 25 to 44 year olds in the economy will be lower than this year's peak. The decline will be as steep as 15% fewer workers in this age group than we have today.

4. The July 15, 1999 issue of Electronic Recruiting News estimates that "the ratio of jobs to workers will hit 1.1 : 1.0 (10% more jobs than workers) sometime in 2002. It will happen even if the bottom falls out of the economy."

5. According to a survey by Wirthlin Worldwide, American business executives are more concerned about a shortage of skilled labor than global competition or a downturn in the economy.

Clearly, forward-thinking employers that prepare themselves now will be in the best position to succeed in the years to come: it's not getting any easier.