What is driving the gap between job seekers and employers?

Data from online job postings in 2017 show that occupations in sales (22,000 job postings); office and administrative support (20,500); healthcare practitioners and technical areas (20,000); computer and mathematical areas (19,000); management (17,200); and transportation (13,900) are in demand in the Pittsburgh metro area. There is a clear demand from businesses to fill open positions in the region. But are there people to fill these jobs?

Every year 60,000 people in the Pittsburgh area seek workforce services for assistance getting a job or building skills. On the surface, it seems there should be plenty of people to fill the jobs in demand and more than enough jobs for the people seeking them. But, digging deeper, it may not be so simple.

Partner4Work’s research of job seekers’ career preferences shows that healthcare practitioners and technical occupations, and computer and mathematical occupations—two of the top job areas in demand—are less popular among job seekers, with just 3,000 and 2,000 job seekers interested, respectively. For these occupations, the issue seems to be one of a mismatch in interest between job seekers and employers.

Job openings and the interests of job seekers do not always align, but what are the challenges in filling open jobs where job seeker interest does align? Close to 13,000 job seekers in the Pittsburgh area are interested in office and administrative support; about 8,500 are interested in management; 8,200 are interested in sales; 7,800 are interested in transportation. The local job seekers’ preferences seem to strongly align with some of the top occupations in demand. In these instances, there doesn’t seem to be a gap at all.

What is keeping job seekers from filling these open jobs? Labor market analysts often blame the supply-demand misalignment on skills gap issues (i.e., a lack of experience) and lack of appropriate qualifications or credentials. Another often cited reason behind the supply-demand disconnect is wage mismatch; wages offered might simply be too low to attract talent. Research from an upcoming Partner4Work report indicates local job seekers evaluate employment opportunities on more than just skills required. Two-thirds of job seekers want a job to be accessible via public transportation, and nine out of 10 job seekers prefer stable work hours over unpredictable shift work.

While there are thousands of jobs in demand each year in sales, office and administrative support, healthcare practitioners and technical areas, computer and mathematical areas, management, and transportation, job seekers consider much more than just what jobs are available when looking for work. Hiring employers might consider alternative pathways to employment for job seekers who lack the necessary credentials or experience, increased wages or benefits packages, flexible work hours, or transportation assistance to both attract talent and help job seekers who face additional constraints in finding and maintaining employment.

Author: Katrina Steinley, MSPPM, Research Fellow with Partner4Work