Global
Talent
Shortage
2023
Taiwan
Germany
Hong Kong
Portugal
Puerto Rico
Singapore
Hungary
Austria
China
Finland
Ireland
Romania
Belgium
Brazil
France
India
Spain
UK
Australia
Canada
Argentina
Japan
Global Average
Greece
Sweden
Israel
South Africa
Switzerland
Italy
US
Norway
The Netherlands
Guatemala
Poland
Türkiye
Costa Rica
Peru
Mexico
Slovakia
Czech Republic
Panama
Colombia
90%
86%
85%
84%
83%
83%
82%
81%
81%
81%
81%
81%
80%
80%
80%
80%
80%
80%
79%
79%
78%
78%
77%
77%
77%
76%
76%
76%
75%
75%
74%
73%
72%
72%
72%
71%
70%
69%
68%
66%
65%
64%
Customer Facing & Front Office 17%
Operations & Logistics 19%
Sales & Marketing 20%
Engineering 22%
IT & Data 27%
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
Reasoning & Problem-Solving 26%
Critical Thinking & Analysis 26%
Resilience & Adaptability 26%
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
Reliability & Self-Discipline 29%
Creativity & Originality 26%
Health Care &
Life Sciences
+78%
Information
Technology
+78%
Consumer
Goods &
Services
+77%
Industrials
& Materials
+77%
Transport,
Logistics &
Automotive
+76%
Financials
& Real Estate
+73%
Communication
Services
+79%
Energy
& Utilities
+79%
Nearly 4 in 5 employers globally report difculty
nding the skilled talent they need in 2023,
strengthening +2 percentage points year-over-year
and more than double the difculty in 2015 (38%).
20222021201920182016201520142013 2023
35%
36%
38%
50%
45%
54%
69%
75%
77%
Global Talent Shortage Reaches a 17-Year-High
Skillsets Employers are Seeking Most
Human strengths stand out in the digital age.
Top 5 Technical SkillsTop 5 Soft Skills
Talent Shortages Across Industries
From Communication Services to Energy & Utilities, employers cannot nd the skilled talent they need.
Cross-Border Teams Bridging Talent Gaps
As hiring demand continues despite growing talent scarcity, over half (55%) of employers are willing
to hire internationally, although most are not planning to accelerate this.
How Employers are
Addressing the Skills Gap
Organizations are planning to invest in
their people more than ever before.
Overcoming Talent Shortages
Nearly 3 in 5 organizations (57%) plan
to offer more exibility in when or where
to work as talent scarcity grows.
57%
offering more flexibility about
WHEN
(part-time, flexible hours) and
WHERE
(location, hybrid, remote)
increasing wages, especially
within the IT industry (37%)
33%
looking at new talent pools
(mature workers, etc.)
33%
offering joining bonuses26%
prioritizing automation for
select tasks/processes
24%
reducing qualification requirements
18%
71%
are upskilling & reskilling
their current workforce
plan on filling new,
permanent roles
51%
report investing in more
technology to augment processes
43%
will bring in more contract
or temporary roles
have no plans for any of the above
37%
4%
11% Plan to hire
fewer workers overseas
13% looking to hire
more foreign talent,
especially within the IT
and Communications
Services industries
31% hiring internationally,
the same as usual
33% only hire
domestically
11% are not hiring
in the next 9 months
55% of
employers are
willing to hire
outside of
their borders
for talent
A Holistic Talent Strategy
To keep pace, an effective talent strategy should comprise a mix of four key elements:
Cultivate
communities of
talent outside the
organization
Borrow
Invest in learning
and development
to grow your
talent pipeline
Build
Go to the external
market to attract
talent that can’t
be built in-house
Buy
Help people
move on or move up
to new roles within
the organization
Bridge
ManpowerGroup surveyed nearly 39,000 employers across
41 countries. Explore the data at manpowergroup.com/talentshortage
Stay Connected:
Talent Scarcity Around the World
Employers report difculty lling open roles with the biggest impacts being felt in Taiwan, Germany, and Hong Kong.
