If
you’re a job seeker, you know how competitive it can be when you’re
trying to land a job. So it might be surprising to you that some
employers are having a tough time finding the right people to fill open
positions. In fact, 35 percent of hiring managers currently have
positions that have remained unfilled for 12 weeks or longer, according
to new research by CareerBuilder.
That’s because certain occupations often require workers with
specialized skills, and there aren’t enough workers with those skills to
fill the gaps in employment.
“Although the recession created an abundant pool of
readily-available, unemployed talent that still exists today, employers
are struggling to find new employees for technology-related occupations,
sales, health care and a variety of other areas,” says Brent Rasmussen,
president of CareerBuilder North America. “Two in five employers (41
percent) reported that they continuously recruit throughout the year so
that they have candidates in their pipeline in case a position opens up
down the road.”
In order to help narrow the skills gap that exists for these
high-growth, specialized occupations, Rasmussen says that employers need
to place a greater emphasis on reskilling workers through formal
education and on-the-job training.
CareerBuilder asked employers to identify the hardest-to-fill
positions within their organizations that stay open 12 weeks or longer
and paired that information with job growth data provided by Economic
Modeling Specialists to create a list of jobs that are experiencing
strong job growth. These jobs present good opportunities for job seekers
or those who are open to a career change.
Here’s the list, in order of jobs added from 2010 to 2013:
Number of jobs added from 2010 to 2013: 584,792*
Percent job growth from 2010 to 2013: 3.8*
Number of jobs added: 135,363
Percent job growth: 9.9
3. Nurse
Number of jobs added: 135,325
Percent job growth: 5
4. Truck driver
Number of jobs added: 113,517
Percent job growth: 6.7
Number of jobs added: 103,708
Percent job growth: 11.2
6. Engineer
Number of jobs added: 73,995
Percent job growth: 4.9
Number of jobs added: 57,045
Percent job growth: 11.3
8. Accountant
Number of jobs added: 55,670
Percent job growth: 4.5
9. Mechanic
Number of jobs added: 53,002
Percent job growth: 4.1
Number of jobs added: 48,709
Percent job growth: 7.5