Comments on: Ten trends for the 2020 worker

By: p4dl0

p4dl0 — Fri, 25 Dec 2009 11:17:28 +0000

I want to quote your post in my blog. It can?
And you et an account on Twitter?

By: sebastian barros

sebastian barros — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 01:48:34 +0000

Hi,
Interesting perspective. Actually there is a huge debate, mainly in the US regarding if the job shortage predicted for the next years is as big as expected or if there is just a short term trend.
Just to give you some ideas about this phenomenon. By 2010, US economy expect a tsunami of 80 million Baby Boomers leaving the workforce, and about 60 percent of the jobs that must be filled now are occupied by Baby Boomers that will need to be replaced.
Also 20% of the United States’ large established companies would be losing 40% of their top-level talent in the next five years according to Development Dimensions Int’l. More interesting is that US Bureau of Labor Statistics predicted that the replacement pool of 35 to 44 year olds will decline by 15% during the same period
Simply put, there will be fewer people available for the top management slots and high-performance executive jobs. Even if you offer higher wages, the lack of skilled workforce for some industries would not be solve in the short/med term.

This is something we are starting to see today.By 2010, United States will have 167,754,000 skilled jobs to fill and only 157,721,000 people in the workforce to fill those jobs.

Price is always an economic factor to regulate a market. But the problem here is not the scarcity of resources, but the massive amount of baby boomers leaving the labout market that cannot be totally replace by the next generation of workers in number and skills.
Neverthless, I believe this shortage will be solve not by price but by introducing more flexible jobs schemes, so baby boomers could extend their working life or continue working from home.

By: Crohn McGreevey

Crohn McGreevey — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 15:34:05 +0000

When you use the phrase “labor shortage” or “skills shortage” you’re speaking in a sentence fragment. What you actually mean to say is: “There is a labor shortage at the salary level I’m willing to pay.” That statement is the correct phrase; the complete sentence and the intellectually honest statement.

Some people speak about shortages as though they represent some absolute, readily identifiable lack of desirable services. Price is rarely accorded its proper importance in their discussion.

If you start raising wages and improving working conditions, and continue doing so, you’ll solve your shortage and will have people lining up around the block to work for you even if you need to have huge piles of steaming manure hand-scooped on a blazing summer afternoon.

Re: Shortage caused by employees retiring out of the workforce: With the majority of retirement accounts down about 50% or more, most people entering retirement age are working well into their sunset years. So, you won’t be getting a worker shortage anytime soon due to retirees exiting the workforce.

Okay, fine. Some specialized jobs require training and/or certification, again, the solution is higher wages and improved benefits. People will self-fund their re-education so that they can enter the industry in a work-ready state. The attractive wages, working conditions and career prospects of technology during the 1980’s and 1990’s was a prime example of people’s willingness to self-fund their own career re-education.

There is never enough of any good or service to satisfy all wants or desires. A buyer, or employer, must give up something to get something. They must pay the market price and forego whatever else he could have for the same price. The forces of supply and demand determine these prices — and the price of a skilled workman is no exception. The buyer can take it or leave it. However, those who choose to leave it (because of lack of funds or personal preference) must not cry shortage. The good is available at the market price. All goods and services are scarce, but scarcity and shortages are by no means synonymous. Scarcity is a regrettable and unavoidable fact.

Shortages are purely a function of price. The only way in which a shortage has existed, or ever will exist, is in cases where the “going price” has been held below the market-clearing price.