With 25 million Americans out of work or underemployed, you’d think it wouldn’t be too hard to find a teacher, an admin assistant, or an accountant. But you would be wrong, according to Manpower.

Those jobs are among the 10 toughest jobs to fill in the U.S., says Manpower’s annual Talent Shortage Survey, which also reports that 52 percent of the employers in the survey are having trouble filling jobs. Only in Japan and India do more companies report talent hard to find.

Globally, a third of all employers say they have difficulty filling jobs. Lack of experienced workers is the most frequently cited reason, globally, as well as in every region in the survey. In the Americas, lack of experience was followed by a lack of skills.

Particularly surprising was the the rise in U.S. companies reporting hiring difficulty. In the 2010 survey, only 14 percent of companies reported problems filling jobs. Now the percentage has nearly quadrupled.

If it seems unlikely the hiring situation could have worsened so much so fast, part of the disconnect may have to do with when the survey was conducted – months ago, long before the current round of gloomy economic reports started coming out.

However, SHRM’s LINE report has been chronicling a similar, if less dramatic, rise in recruiting difficulty. The most recent LINE report says recruiting difficulty in the manufacturing area is up 11.2 points over a year ago. In the service sector, recruiting difficulty rose a more modest 2.7 points.

The LINE report authors attempt to make sense of the situation writing:

Considering that millions of people are actively seeking work and still cannot obtain employment in their industries, the rise in recruiting difficulty may be attributed to new or enhanced skill requirements for newly created high-level jobs.

Some jobs on the list, like sales jobs and engineers, have historically been tough to fill. IT, though the jobs didn’t make Manpower’s list for the last couple of years, was sixth on this one, a consequence of employers upgrading systems and adding staff that needs to be supported.

The August IT jobs report from Dice shows the number of openings increasing by double-digits from a year ago in the top U.S. tech markets. In Boston, the number of tech openings jumped by 42 percent, eclipsing the rest of the country, including Silicon Valley.

However, even in tech’s holy land, companies are having trouble attracting workers. So acute is the situation in Silicon Valley, that some startups are unable to launch or attract investors, even when the concept has appeal. According to CNNMoney today: “Skilled developers are Silicon Valley’s scarcest resource.”

Manpower Inc. releases the Manpower Employment Outlook Survey quarterly to measure employers’ intentions to increase or decrease the number of employees in their workforce during the next quarter. Polling nearly 64,000 employers in 39 countries and territories, the survey is conducted using a validated methodology in accordance with the highest standards in market research. In the U.S., the survey is conducted by an independent, third-party research firm and includes a select sample of more than 18,000 U.S. employers. This sample represents the top 100 Metropolitan Statistical Areas based on business establishment count and all 50 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico.

From its survey, Manpower learned:

• There is positive outlook in every state. Employers in all 50 states report positive hiring intentions and 33 out of 50 states anticipate considerable increases. Puerto Rico and Washington D.C. employers also report positive hiring intentions.
• All industries are looking to hire. Employers in the thirteen industry sectors surveyed each report a positive outlook, with Mining and Leisure & Hospitality employers the most optimistic. Employers in 10 of the 13 industry sectors expect hiring to increase from three months ago.
• We have had six straight quarters of employment growth. Employers have reported a positive overall hiring outlook since Quarter 1 2010, according to seasonally adjusted data.
• Fewer employers plan to decrease headcounts. 6% of employers plan to reduce employee levels in Quarter 2 2011, down from recessionary highs of 14% in 2009.

Of the more than 18,000 employers surveyed, 16% anticipate an increase in staff levels in their Quarter 2 2011 hiring plans, while 6% expect a decrease in payrolls, resulting in a Net Employment Outlook of +10%. When seasonally adjusted, the Net Employment Outlook becomes +8%. 74% of employers expect no change in their hiring plans. The final 4% of employers indicate they are undecided about their hiring intentions.

Employers in all four U.S. geographic regions surveyed report a seasonally adjusted outlook of +8%. The hiring outlook in the West is the strongest for the region since Quarter 4 2008. Compared to one year ago, a slight increase in employment prospects is expected in the Midwest, South, and West, while the Northeast is steady. Quarter over quarter, employers in the Northeast, South, and West report relatively stable hiring conditions, while employers in the Midwest expect a slight dip in employment plans.

“Nearly all of the of the key data points in our survey show that employers are positive, but hiring plans are still reserved due to their continued ability to manage the slowly increasing demand with the existing workforce,” said Jonas Prising, Manpower president of the Americas.  “In the U.S., we are holding on to hard-won job gains and waiting for the time when the growth in demand for goods and services will require more substantial workforce additions.”

Results from the thirteen industry sectors surveyed indicate an overall positive outlook for Quarter 2 2011:

• Leisure & Hospitality: +21%
• Mining: +21%
• Professional & Business Services: +15%
• Durable Goods Manufacturing: +14%
• Wholesale & Retail Trade: +12%
• Nondurable Goods Manufacturing: +11%
• Financial Activities: +9%
• Information: +9%
• Transportation & Utilities: +8%
• Other Services: +7%
• Construction: +6%
• Education & Health Services: +6%
• Government: +1%

You can view the full survey results here. The next Manpower Employment Outlook Survey will be released on June 14, 2011, to report hiring expectations for Quarter 3 2011.

Manpower’s new applications, the Direct Talent Recruiter Mobile Application, the Direct Talent iPhone Application and the Direct Talent Candidate Mobile Application, provide innovative features via many different operating systems designed to bridge the gap between candidates and clients. Candidates can apply for a job using “Quick Apply” with their name, email address, and telephone number or with their LinkedIn®, profile. They can also connect quickly and easily with a Manpower branch office, search jobs by employment type — temporary, contract or permanent roles — and location, and receive notifications directly to their iPhone or other smartphones.

Says Jeffrey A. Joerres, Manpower Inc. Chairman and CEO, “Worldwide, Manpower is revolutionizing the way candidates and employers interact. As we enter the Human Age and experience tumultuous shifts around the world, it will not be technology that will define this new era but rather how we interact with this new technology as humans…The inescapable pressure to do more with less through the recession has awakened employers to the true power of humans, and it is human potential itself, empowered and unleashed via technology and more, that is emerging as the catalyst for economic growth.”

The important part of his statement is on “how we interact with this new technology as humans.” There is an incorrect belief in our industry that technology is evil and that we rely too heavily on it as opposed to the tried-and-true methods of building relationships and human outreach. Technology is supposed to enhance our activities, not replace them. At the end of the day, we are human beings connecting with other human beings, not auto-bots connecting with other auto-bots. The foundation of our business was, is, and arguably always will be making human connections and building relationships.

That being said, it is important to observe technological trends and take them into consideration when progressing in our business. A company as large as Manpower developing mobile tools for improved candidate experience should be an eye-opener for us. In 2009, Korn/Ferry also created a similar iPhone app called Korn/Ferry Connect, which was designed to help candidates connect with recruiters in many/any of its international locations. So while this isn’t ground-breaking technological development, it’s certainly trending in recruiting and worth paying attention to.

You may be thinking, “Well that’s great for the candidates, but what about for me?” I’ll bet you didn’t know that several of your recruiting vendors also provide mobile tools — and have been for quite some time:

• PC Recruiter launched a mobile-friendly site back in 2002.
• Bullhorn has been mobile-friendly since 2003.
• Sendouts launched Sendouts Mobile in 2007, which allows its users to access their database from their browser-enabled smartphones.
• Last year, Kenexa launched its 2xMobile app which fully integrates with their talent management solutions.
• The Hire Syndicate has a mobile app that connects you with community “pods” to do split placements.
• …there are many others

So, what do you think? Should our industry be listening and paying attention to mobile trends that seem to be on the rise?

Our poll this week asks some questions on your current mobile activities and capabilities, and also asks for your thoughts on this from a third-party recruiting standpoint. We hope you’ll participate: the best way to learn trends and thoughts in this business is to go directly to the source. Stay tuned for results to the poll next week!

Manpower issued its respected Employment Outlook Survey on Tuesday that said employers anticipate small staffing gains in the first quarter of 2011. Although the outlook, says Manpower, is still below the average of the past 10 years, the picture is nonetheless brighter.

The seasonally adjusted  Net Employment Outlook is +9 percent, says Manpower. That’s up from the +5 percent of a year ago and up from the +5 percent for the current, 4th quarter of 2010.

The Net Employment Outlook is the percentage of employers saying they plan to hire over the percentage who expect to cut staff. Almost three-quarters of the 18,000 surveyed employers say they expect to make no changes in staffing.

Another survey, this one of CFOs done by the Bank of America, says larger companies are even more likely to hire in 2011. The survey says that 47 percent of businesses with revenue in the $25 million to $2 billion range plan to increase staff during the year. That’s a big improvement over the 28 percent who said that at the start of 2010.

The survey also showed them somewhat more optimistic about their own company’s prospects. Last year 61 percent of the CFOs surveyed expected improvement in their company’s revenue. This year, 64 percent do.

It may not be a booster club for the economy — they gave the economy a score of 47 out of 100 — but it does add to the sense that the US is climbing out of the hole.

Brian Moynihan, BofA CEO and president, said in a PBS interview the other night, “I think we’re in a recovery and we continue to make progress for it.”

To get companies to do more hiring, Moynihan said they have to believe that their top line is going to be improving and the recovery will continue.

That’s not so easy, of course. Earlier this year, when the US Census was hiring hundreds of thousands of workers, and the stock market was rising, there was a sense of optimism that the nation was on the right track. The Consumer Confidence Index in May was at 63.3, its highest point in two years.  Grant Thornton’s Business Optimism Index stood at 67.6, more than 13 points higher than the year before. And 63 percent of the business leaders it surveyed thought the US economy was improving.

Now, business leaders are more cautious and consumers wary. The Consumer Confidence Index is rising, but only a bit every month, after falling sharply since May. In November it was at 54.1. The most recent Grant Thornton survey says only 47 percent of business leaders believe the economy is improving. Better than the August survey when only 34 percent thought that.

What these surveys and others are saying is that most of us — consumers and business leaders — are hopeful, but we need to be convinced that what the data is showing is both real and sustainable.

The Manpower data shows employers in 28 of 36 countries and territories expect positive hiring activity in the fourth quarter, with those in five reporting negative hiring expectations — an improvement in comparison to the 12 countries reporting negative outlooks 12 months ago. Globally, employers in 32 countries and territories are reporting stronger year-over-year outlooks, with those in China, Taiwan, India, and Brazil indicating the strongest fourth-quarter job prospects. Notably, forecasts from Chinese, Swiss, and Taiwanese employers are the most optimistic since Manpower began polling there. The weakest hiring plans for the upcoming quarter are reported in Greece, Italy, the Czech Republic, Spain, and Ireland.

“We’re seeing a multi-speed recovery in the global labor market with talent demand in high gear in many of the emerging markets we survey. Other markets, such as the U.S. and Japan, are still moving forward but can’t seem to get out of first gear,” said Jeffrey A. Joerres, Chairman and CEO of Manpower Inc. “Employers in many markets continue to struggle with inconsistent demand for their products and services making it difficult to anticipate staff needs. As a result, a flexible workforce strategy will be critical during this point of the recovery cycle.”

Across the ten countries surveyed in the Americas region, employers anticipate varying degrees of positive hiring activity. Outlooks improve in six countries from three months ago, but improve in all countries when year-over-year comparisons are made. Regional hiring plans are again strongest in Brazil, Peru, and Costa Rica and weakest in the U.S., where hiring plans are relatively stable from three months ago but are notably stronger than those reported one year ago.

“In the U.S.,” sais Jorres, “most of the hiring that was done in the third quarter will be absorbed, yet negative outlooks are reported for just two sectors — Construction and Government. U.S. job seekers can expect to find the most opportunities in the Wholesale & Retail Trade and Mining sectors in the quarter ahead.”

Ernest Feiteira picked up on an item I posted and started a conversation about the value of such recruiting tools. A couple others chimed in about the ROI, something I’m looking into for a future article.

At this point in the discussion, there’s no resolution to the question of how you would calculate the ROI.

However, Down Under, the Aussies must believe that outsourcing their military recruiting pays off because they have been doing it for some years. I know that because I talked with a Manpower spokeswoman about a press release announcing that the Milwaukee firm just won a $200 million recruiting contract from the Australian Defence Force.

In the release, Commodore Tim Barrett, director general of defence force recruiting, is quoted saying: “Manpower’s capability in managing and delivering large-scale and complex recruitment services is necessary to attract the calibre of military recruits that we are looking for. The breadth, nature, and complexity of this recruitment program can be considered critical to national security.”

The nation of 21 million people has an enviable problem. Its unemployment rate has been declining for years and is somewhere around 4 percent for 2009. (Incidentally, the Aussies think that’s a recession.) Even though its total military force is only about 53,000 active duty, the military has been hard-pressed to find enough volunteers to fill its ranks, especially when it comes to certain types of jobs that are in demand in the civilian sector.

The problem is so acute that a newspaper analysis a few months ago reported the Navy didn’t have enough submariners to staff its six submarines.

“By any measure,” says the report in the Australian, “the latest figures on recruitment from the Defence Department make for depressing reading.”

Manpower will employ 300 people to manage what it’s calling the “largest and most complex” RPO project in the world. It’s an end-to-end recruiting contract, that includes marketing and promotion up through onboarding.

The transition is already underway with the official launch set for February. Incidentally, it’s worth taking a look at the ADF recruiting website. The videos may not be as action-packed as some of the U.S. Army’s, but the ones I watched give you a pretty good idea of the nature of the jobs the military is looking to fill.

The forecast is from Manpower, which announced Monday it might be hitting the unemployment line soon. Well, not quite, but the Milwaukee-based staffing company did announce it is withdrawing its revenue and earnings guidance for the fourth quarter of 2008.

Executives have become “markedly more pessimistic” and Manpower chairman and CEO Jeffrey Joerres is no exception. He blames a deteriorating economic environment and anticipates “demand for our services will be especially weak in December as we are hearing that many of our light industrial clients are taking prolonged plant shut downs around the holidays compared to last year.”

He’s referring, of course, to the many companies planning longer-than-anticipated plant closings: General Motors, Chrysler, and Ford Motor Co, troubled automakers that are extending their holiday plant shutdowns; Caterpillar, Inc., the heavy equipment maker that is temporarily closing factories and cutting salaries; FedEx, which is delivering a 5% pay cut for salaried workers and stopping contributions to employee retirement accounts; and Newell Rubbermaid, Inc. the Atlanta-based maker of Rubbermaid containers, Calphalon pans, and Graco baby products, which is planning temporary shutdowns at its worldwide factories and cutting almost 1,000 jobs.

As fewer companies need temporary workers, Manpower may face internal layoffs and office closings. The $21-billion company, with 4,500 offices in 80 countries, estimates a fourth-quarter revenue decline of 9% to 11%.

It wasn’t a much better day for Gevity, whose stock was plunging about 29% mid-day. Stock prices of Volt, Spherion, and other staffing firms were behaving poorly. Salary.com, on the other hand, is up sharply. It’s buying back stock and has completed an acquisition of Genesys.

That’s the expected employment outlook for January, February, and March, according to the latest Manpower Employment Outlook Survey.

Among U.S. employers surveyed, 16% foresee an increase in hiring activity, and 13% expect a decline in staff levels during Q1 2009. Sixty-seven percent anticipate no change in the hiring pace, while 5% are undecided about their January–March hiring plans.

For Q1 2009, Mining and Professional & Business Services employers have the most promising hiring outlook in the United States.

Overall, hiring is set to slow further, most notably in Singapore, India, and Taiwan. Employers in 30 countries — out of 33 total countries surveyed — say they will slow the pace of hiring from three months ago, the report shows. Year-over-year hiring forecasts are also weaker in 25 countries and territories, with employers in 21 countries admitting to the weakest hiring plans since the survey began in their countries.

“The vast majority of employers are telling us that they will take a ‘wait and see’ approach before hiring or further reducing staff. Unless they see more positive economic signals they will not add employees and, until then, it will be a rougher road for job seekers,” said Jeffrey A. Joerres, chairman and CEO of Manpower.

“Interestingly, the number of U.S. companies planning no change in their hiring intentions is considerably higher than during the 2001 recession. This may suggest a much-needed pause in downsizing in the first quarter,” he said.

One of the several comments to a recent article on MarketWatch says, “Hiring outlook is flat. Firing outlook is skyrocketing.”

Do you agree? Tell us what do you think.