IES Blog

Long-term unemployment may create skills-gap

Posted on August 9th, 2011 Read time: 1 minutes

Unemployment isn't just a burden to the millions of Americans who can't get a job – employers and human resources administration may find it harder to hire skilled permanent or temporary workers in the future as knowledge fades from lack of use.

Recent research from ManpowerGroup suggests that as demand for products and services slow, improvements in employment will continue to face difficulties.

ManpowerGroup explains that as workers remain unemployed for longer periods of time, their skills may become antiquated and are no longer able to meet the demands of the job market.

"Demand holds the keys to business growth and job creation, regardless of industry," said Jonas Prising, ManpowerGroup's president of the Americas. "Without it, our unemployment rate will remain high and we will have more underemployed Americans not actively seeking work and increasingly uncertain of how to bolster their skills during critical transition periods."

The unemployment rate currently stands at 9.1 percent – down from 9.2 percent in July, according to statistics from the U.S. Labor Department. 

Related Articles