Two-thirds of businesses surveyed say they are struggling to hire employees

Around two thirds of businesses surveyed from around the world reported having difficulty in hiring, according to a report from staffing company ManpowerGroup.

ManpowerGroup’s quarterly survey included 43 countries, mostly in Europe and North America. According to its findings, 69 percent of employers said they were having difficulty in filling employment positions — a 15-year high, according to ManpowerGroup.

Countries including India, Singapore, France, Japan, Belgium and Germany were among those who reported experiencing the highest hiring difficulty.

The U.S., Canada, Mexico, the United Kingdom and Israel all reported having an “average difficulty” in hiring.

“To overcome this shortage, employers must provide incentives such as skills development, increased wages and greater flexibility,” the company said in its report. “HR leaders are prioritizing leadership development and technical skills training, however employers face barriers to upskill workers at scale. Money, time and access to the right partners present the greatest challenges globally.”

The industries experiencing the highest rates of hiring difficulty included manufacturing, finance and business services, transport and public utilities and mining and construction.

Despite the difficulty that employers are having in finding workers, ManpowerGroup found that hiring optimism has recovered to levels that have not been seen since before the coronavirus pandemic began. Hiring optimism was the highest in the U.S., India and Canada.

“This recovery is unlike any we have seen before with hiring intent picking up much faster than after the previous economic downturn,” Manpower Group CEO and Chairman Jonas Prising said.

In the U.S., the ongoing labor shortage has caused many companies to resort to recruitment incentives, including sign-on bonuses and higher wages. ManpowerGroup found that offering training, more flexible work schedules and higher wages were the top incentives to attract and retain talent.

Some state governments have begun offering one-time payments to workers to rejoin the workforce while other governments have moved to cut off expanded unemployment benefits.

Last week, the federal unemployment benefits expanded during the pandemic officially ended, cutting off millions from jobless insurance. Many lawmakers argued that ending unemployment benefits would encourage people to rejoin the workforce; however, a study published in August found that withdrawing unemployment benefits had little impact on hiring rates and most people did not end up finding employment.