1. SHRM Poll: The Ongoing Impact of the
Recession—Recruiting and Skill Gaps
November 7, 2011

2. Introduction
 This is part one of a series of SHRM poll results about the ongoing impact of the
recession. Overall results will be reported separately in three different topic areas:
 Recruiting and skill gaps.
 Overall financial health and hiring.
 Global competition and hiring strategies.
 Industry-specific results will be reported separately for each of the eight industries
that were included in the sample:
 Construction, oil, mining and gas.
 Federal government.
 Finance.
 Health.
 Manufacturing.
 State and local government.
 Services—professional.
 High-tech.
SHRM Poll: The Ongoing Impact of the Recession—Recruiting and Skill Gaps ©SHRM 2011
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3. Key Findings
 Is recruiting for specific jobs difficult in the current labor market? About one half
(52%) of organizations that are currently hiring full-time staff indicated that they are
having a difficult time recruiting for specific job openings.
 What types of jobs are the most difficult to fill? Although difficulty in filling specific
jobs varies by industry, the top five most difficult positions to fill overall are
engineers (88%), high-skilled medical (e.g., nurses, doctors, specialists) (86%), high-
skilled technical (e.g., technicians and programmers) (85%), scientists (83%), and
managers and executives (78%).
 What basic knowledge and applied skill gaps do job applicants typically have? For
basic knowledge skills, writing in English (48%), mathematics (38%), reading
comprehension (30%) and English language (spoken) (30%) are the most common
skill gaps. The top four applied skill gaps are critical thinking/problem solving (54%),
professionalism/work ethic (44%), written communication (41%) and leadership
(39%).
SHRM Poll: The Ongoing Impact of the Recession—Recruiting and Skill Gaps ©SHRM 2011
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4. In general, in the current labor market, is your organization having a
difficult time recruiting for specific jobs that are open in your
organization?
No, 48%
Yes, 52%
Note: n = 1,568. Respondents who answered “Don’t know” were excluded from this analysis. Only respondents whose organizations were currently hiring
full-time staff were asked this question.
SHRM Poll: The Ongoing Impact of the Recession—Recruiting and Skill Gaps ©SHRM 2011
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5. In general, in the current labor market, is your organization having a
difficult time recruiting for specific jobs that are open in your
organization?
Comparisons by industry
The manufacturing and high-tech industries are more likely to be having a difficult time recruiting for specific job openings
compared with the construction, mining, oil and gas; federal government; finance; and state and local government industries.
…are more likely to
Construction, mining, oil and gas (51%)
be having a difficult time recruiting
Manufacturing (68%) Federal government (31%)
for specific jobs that are open in their
High-tech (71%) Finance (49%)
organization
State and local government (33%)
than...
The construction, mining, oil and gas, and professional services industries are more likely to be having a difficult time recruiting for
specific job openings at their organizations compared with the federal, state and local governments.
…are more likely to
be having a difficult time recruiting
Construction, mining, oil and gas (51%) Federal government (31%)
for specific jobs that are open in their
Services—professional (59%) State and local government (33%)
organization
than...
SHRM Poll: The Ongoing Impact of the Recession—Recruiting and Skill Gaps ©SHRM 2011
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6. In general, what basic knowledge skill gaps do job applicants have in
your industry?
Writing in English (grammar, spelling, etc.) 48%
Mathematics (computation) 38%
Reading comprehension (in English) 30%
English language (spoken) 30%
Science 18%
Government/economics 11%
Foreign languages 8%
Technical (computer, engineering, mechanical, etc.) 7%
Humanities/arts 2%
History/geography 1%
Other 9%
Note: n = 597. Percentages do not total 100% because respondents were able to select multiple response options. Only respondents whose organizations
were having a difficult time recruiting for certain types of jobs were asked this question.
SHRM Poll: The Ongoing Impact of the Recession—Recruiting and Skill Gaps ©SHRM 2011
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7. In general, what applied skill gaps do job applicants have in your
industry?
Critical thinking/problem solving 54%
Professionalism/work ethic 44%
Written communications 41%
Leadership 39%
Teamwork/collaboration 36%
Oral communications 36%
Information technology application 30%
Creativity/innovation 25%
Lifelong learning/self-direction 21%
Ethics/social responsibility 19%
Diversity 17%
Other 5%
Note: n = 716. Percentages do not total 100% because respondents were able to select multiple response options. Only respondents whose organizations
were having a difficult time recruiting for certain types of jobs were asked this question.
SHRM Poll: The Ongoing Impact of the Recession—Recruiting and Skill Gaps ©SHRM 2011
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8. Specific Job Categories Organizations Having Difficulty Recruiting
Engineers (n=425) 88%
High-skilled medical (e.g., nurses, doctors, specialists) (n=104) 86%
High-skilled technical (e.g., technicians, programmers) (n=557) 85%
Scientists (n=121) 83%
Managers and executives (n=601) 78%
Sales representatives (n=326) 72%
Skilled trades (e.g., electricians, carpenters) (n=337) 68%
Accounting and finance professionals (n=528) 54%
Production operators (n=256) 52%
HR professionals (n=384) 49%
Drivers (n=157) 36%
Customer service representatives (n=398) 34%
Hourly laborers (n=428) 29%
Administrative support staff (n=610) 24%
Note: n = 104-610. Chart represents “Somewhat difficult” and “Very difficult” responses. “Not applicable” responses were excluded from this analysis. Only
respondents whose organizations were having a difficult time recruiting for certain types of jobs were asked this question.
SHRM Poll: The Ongoing Impact of the Recession—Recruiting and Skill Gaps ©SHRM 2011
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9. Demographics: Organization Industry
State and local government 20%
Manufacturing 16%
Finance 15%
Services--professional 14%
Construction, mining, oil and gas 14%
High-tech 10%
Federal government 8%
Health 4%
Note: n = 2,286. Percentages do not total 100% due to rounding.
SHRM Poll: The Ongoing Impact of the Recession—Recruiting and Skill Gaps ©SHRM 2011
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10. Demographics: Organization Sector
Publicly owned for-profit organization 19%
Privately owned for-profit organization 47%
Nonprofit organization 8%
Government sector 24%
Other 2%
Note: n = 2,187.
SHRM Poll: The Ongoing Impact of the Recession—Recruiting and Skill Gaps ©SHRM 2011
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11. Demographics: Organization Staff Size
31%
25%
23%
17%
4%
1 to 99 employees 100 to 499 employees 00 to 2,499 employees to 24,999 employees or more employees
5 2,500 25,000
Note: n = 2,161.
SHRM Poll: The Ongoing Impact of the Recession—Recruiting and Skill Gaps ©SHRM 2011
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12. Demographics: Other
Does your organization have U.S.- Is your organization a single-unit company or a
based operations (business units) only multi-unit company?
or does it operate multi-nationally? Single-unit company: A company in which
the location and the company are one 38%
U.S.-based operations only 74% and the same.
Multi-unit company: A company that has
Multinational operations 26% 62%
more than one location.
n = 2,196. n = 2,226.
Are HR policies and practices determined by the
What is the HR department/function multi-unit corporate headquarters, by each work
for which you responded throughout location or both?
this survey? Multi-unit headquarters determines HR policies
52%
and practices
Corporate (company wide) 69%
Each work location determines HR policies and
Business unit/division 19% 3%
practices
Facility/location 12% A combination of both the work location and the
multi-unit headquarters determine HR policies 44%
n = 1,444.
and practices
n = 1,442.
Note: Percentages may not total 100% due to rounding.
SHRM Poll: The Ongoing Impact of the Recession—Recruiting and Skill Gaps ©SHRM 2011
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13. SHRM Poll: The Ongoing Impact of the Recession
Methodology
 Response rate = 11%
 Sample composed of 2,286 randomly selected HR
professionals from eight different industries in SHRM’s
membership
 Margin of error +/- 2%
 Survey fielded August 18-September 2, 2011
For more poll findings, visit www.shrm.org/surveys
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SHRM Poll: The Ongoing Impact of the Recession—Recruiting and Skill Gaps ©SHRM 2011
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