Last week we launched the fourth Global RPO Report. Across the world, the economic outlook ranges from booming to chaotic, and everywhere in between. What we've found though, from speaking to more than 500 global HR and business leaders, is that skill shortages remain an enduring problem. This in spite of high levels of unemployment across many economies.

The uptake of recruitment process outsourcing continues, with 58 percent of respondents outsourcing part or all of their recruitment. This in turn is much more than other key areas such as payroll (44 percent), training (34 percent), and benefits (31 percent).

More than half of respondents say they are still experiencing difficulties in recruiting staff. This is a slight improvement on the situation in the previous year with the biggest improvement in the Americas, where the share of businesses experiencing recruiting difficulties fell from 46 percent to 38 percent. There was also an improvement in EMEA with a slight change from 65 percent to 63 percent. But the real story was in the Asia-Pacific, where the share of businesses with recruiting difficulties rose from 50 percent to 67 percent. The overwhelming factor cited for difficulty in hiring is a “shortage of skilled staff”.

For more insights, download the full 2011 Global RPO Report, or view the Global Recruitment Process Outsourcing 2011 Webcast.