Survey Shows Employers Worldwide Struggling with Personnel Shortages

Manpower Group, a Tokyo-based comprehensive temporary staffing service company, conducted a survey on the challenges facing employers in 42 countries and regions with regard to securing talent. The survey, conducted in October 2024, had 40,413 valid responses in total, including 1,050 from Japan.

The percentage of employers worldwide who are feeling a talent shortage fell by one percentage point compared to the previous year, to an average of 74%. In Japan, the percentage fell by eight percentage points, but remains above the global average, with 77% of employers sensing a labor shortage.

Among the 42 countries and regions surveyed, the highest sense of facing a personnel shortage was expressed in Germany, at 86% (up 4 percentage points year on year), followed by Israel at 85% (up 3 points), and Portugal at 84% (up 3 points). Japan’s 77% is 3 percentage points higher than the global average, placing the country at fifteenth in terms of its labor shortage.

Among Japanese executives, the most common measures considered to address the prolonged labor shortage were “raising wages” and “upgrading the skills of existing employees,” which were each mentioned by 30% of the respondents. Along with raising wages, executives are trying to secure human resources by promoting multifaceted efforts that include supporting employees in their career development. At the same time, it is essential to have a mechanism to utilize the talents of nonregular employees through such measures as increasing the number of contract or temporary employees and outsourcing operations.

(Translated from Japanese. Banner photo © Pixta.)