Diminished Worker Shortages
Worker shortages appear to be mitigating somewhat, possibly as a result of reduced hiring activity. Throughout 2018, more than half of responding Maryland businesses surveyed reported experiencing difficulties in finding workers with the skills necessary to fill specific job requirements. In the first quarter of 2019, this fell to 39 percent of responding businesses reporting difficulties in finding workers.
Figure 6: Percentage of Firms Experiencing Workforce Shortages
When asked if these workforce shortages were long-term, short-term or both, 36 percent of firms experiencing shortages reported long-term shortages, 24 percent reported short-term shortages, and 40 percent reported experiencing both long- and short-term shortages. Firms reported shortages across all skill levels with firms experiencing difficulty in finding manufacturing workers (26 firms), unskilled workers or laborers (11 firms), and engineers or scientists (17 firms).
Thus, Maryland businesses appear to be experiencing worker shortages across the low, middle and high-skilled spectrum of occupations. In the first quarter of 2019, 47 percent of businesses reporting workforce shortages were forced to recruit workers from out of state and 15 percent of firms experiencing shortages had difficulty finding workers with a security clearance.
Figure 7: Type of Workforce Shortages
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