The employment world has entered a bizarre paradox of skills shortages and unemployment, according to global recruitment specialist Hays.

 

The report found that critical skills shortages are being created in crucial professions as a result of labour market inflexibility, global competition for talent driving up salaries and poor education and training.

 

The Hays Global Skills Index 2012, produced in collaboration with Oxford Economics, creates a score out of 10 for each country, calculated through seven key components, such as education. Labour market flexibility and high-skill wage pressures.

 

A score above the mid-point of 5.0 suggests that employers are witnessing difficulties finding the key skills they need and are suffering market friction, whilst a score below 5.0 indicates a lax labour market in which there are no major constraints on the supply of skilled labour. 

 

The Index found that each country surveyed faced specific issues in its skilled labour force. 16 out of 27 countries are experiencing labour market constraints, with the worst affected countries being Germany and the USA, both of which are experiencing skills shortages despite high unemployment rates.

 

The full report can be found here