The New Odd Couple: Skilled Worker Shortages and High Unemployment

YouTube last week announced it expects to have its biggest hiring year in 2011, with plans to grow its staff by 30%.

The Google-owned video site has dozens of open positions in all areas, with a high number of them are in advertising sales and customer support.

Google itself announced a few weeks ago that 2011 would be its biggest hiring year ever, surpassing its 2007 hiring record with more than 6,000 new hires.

In contrast AOL, the darling of Wall Street just a decade or so ago, announced it was laying of 20 percent of its workforce or 900 people.  That followed a cut of 2,500 employees just about 4 months ago.

The contrast between Google and AOL, as well as quite a few more technology companies, is distinct. It reinforces the volatility of business models, and essentially job markets, in today’s marketplace. 

What I find most interesting with this news is that hiring a few hundred employees actually made front page news. Contrast that with just a few decades ago when manufacturers, especially the auto industry, announced employee call backs in the tens of thousands following a recession.

As recent as 30 years ago, the auto plants and related factories provided high-paying jobs to people without any college degrees or even any high school degrees. A person with little or no education could get a factory job for life that would give them a comfortable middle-class existence. The worst case scenario was a temporary layoff during a tough economic cycle.  But these dips and layoffs were temporary.  As the economy recovered, employees were re-hired to the same jobs they left.

Employees waiting today for their old jobs will hear only the call of disappointment. Many of those jobs are gone for good. Some were lost to outsourcing. Just as many jobs were eliminated thanks to automation. 
Assembly line jobs have been replaced by robots and computers. Many of the people who used to assemble products and now looking for work but don't have the specialized skills to perform the new jobs. New jobs require strong technical or professional skills and some level of post-secondary education.

For instance, one of the largest hiring sprees is being conducted by Accenture. They are hiring 45,000 employees.  Most of the job openings require at least a four-year degree. The same thing with Deloitte, which is hiring over 11,000 people this year. The Big Three – GM, Ford, and Chrysler – once ruled the roost when it came to hiring and offering a middle class lifestyle with only a high school degree. As recently as the 1970s, manufacturers recalled tens of thousands of employees.  No more. The bar for employment has been permanently raised.

I’d be remiss if I excluded companies offering entry-level jobs from the conversation. In fact, businesses are hiring workers who don’t have college degrees. Marriott plans to hire 5,400 people, while Wegmans and Publix are hiring 1,500 and 1,300 respectively. But the numbers pale in comparison to Accenture and Deloitte. So does the pay… and the opportunity for a middle class lifestyle.

Our job market has undergone a major structural shift. The writing was on the wall for years.  For many employers and employees, today is the tomorrow they hoped would never come. The odd couple of skilled worker shortages and high employment will maintain their contentious relationship for some time.

 

Comments

[online jobs in the philippines]

There's a lot of different vacancies, but not everybody skilled enough..

[Glen Woodfin]

Nice to know that when this social media site expands, it would also offer job opportunities. This is such a good news for those who are searching for jobs right now and who are qualified for any position they are looking for.