- IT and Engineering Roles Top List of Hardest-to-Fill Jobs for Third Year -

- Average Voluntary Turnover Nearly 12 Percent -

 A recent analysis by the Hay Group division of Korn Ferry (NYSE:KFY), shows a significant scarcity of qualified job candidates among U.S. companies, with 41 percent of analyzed organizations reporting difficulty finding the right talent for needed roles.

The data is from Korn Ferry Hay Group’s proprietary PayNet, the world’s largest database of pay and hiring information, and includes information from 2,100 U.S. companies employing a total of more than 5 million people.

The analysis shows that for the third year in a row, the two most difficult types of positions to fill were Information Technology (IT) where 42 percent of companies report there aren’t enough qualified candidates, and engineering, where 34 percent report scarcity. Other difficult types of jobs to fill include finance and accounting at 16 percent, and sales and supply chain/logistics, both at 13 percent.

Job Scarcity By Role

Information Technology         – 42 percent
Engineering                          – 34 percent 
Finance/Accounting              --16 percent
Sales                                  – 13 percent
Supply Chain/Logistics         – 13 percent                
The jobs that are the least difficult to fill in the analysis included administration/support and legal, both at 3 percent, and health/safety/environment at 1 percent.
“With ubiquitous digital transformation happening in every industry, it’s no surprise that there is a dire need for qualified candidates in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) fields,” said Samantha Wallace, Market Leader, Technology Practice for Korn Ferry Futurestep. “A strong employer brand is critical to attracting and retaining top talent, and it’s equally important that existing employees get ongoing development and advancement opportunities to keep the STEM employee pipeline full.”

The analysis of the PayNet data shows that the voluntary turnover rate for employees in 2016 was 11.9 percent. That is fairly consistent with previous years. The fields with the highest rates of voluntary turnover, in order, are production, sales, IT and engineering.

“While it’s true that employers are seeing the greatest candidate scarcity in STEM fields, the lack of qualified talent is seen across virtually all industries and job roles,” said Tom McMullen a Korn Ferry Hay Group Senior Client Partner specializing in reward and organization effectiveness. “We recommend companies take a longer-term look at their business and talent strategies to make sure they are attracting, developing and retaining the right people with the right skills to meet goals now and into the future.”  

About Korn Ferry

Korn Ferry is the preeminent global people and organizational advisory firm. We help leaders, organizations, and societies succeed by releasing the full power and potential of people. Our nearly 7,000 colleagues deliver services through our Executive Search, Hay Group and Futurestep divisions. Visit kornferry.com for more information.

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Tracy Kurschner 
612.309.3957
Tracy.Kurschner@kornferry.com