Out of 41 countries, Portugal is the fifth most difficult place to hire workers. The health and life sciences sector suffers the most from a shortage of talent.
Portugal is one of the countries in the world where employers find it most difficult to find workers to fill vacancies. According to a study by ManpowerGroup, of the 41 countries analyzed, Portugal is the fifth most difficult country to hire in, with more than eight out of ten Portuguese companies reporting difficulties in recruitment.
“The difficulties faced by national and global companies in filling vacancies will remain very high in 2024. According to the ‘Talent Shortage Survey 2024’, 65% of Portuguese employers report some difficulty in finding professionals with the profiles they need and 16% find it very difficult”, said human resources company ManpowerGroup on Friday.
In other words, only 17% of companies are currently not experiencing any challenges in their recruitment processes.
All told, the shortage of talent is affecting 81% of employers, less than in 2023 (84%), but above the global average (75%). “At the same level are Ireland and India, and with the most difficulties is Japan, with 85%, followed by Germany, Greece and Israel, which stand at 82%,” details ManpowerGroup.
However, not all sectors of the Portuguese job market are experiencing these difficulties in the same way. It is the health and life sciences sector that has the greatest shortage of talent, with 86% of companies reporting difficulties in hiring.
This is followed by heavy industry and materials, with 84%, and consumer goods and services (which includes retail, distribution, hospitality and the consumer goods industry), with a figure of 82%. The transport, logistics and automotive sector, on the other hand, recorded “the most significant slowdown in talent shortages compared to 2023,” ManpowerGroup points out.
The study also shows that medium-sized and large companies are the ones that report the greatest difficulties in attracting qualified talent, although all categories complain of recruitment challenges.
Digitalization, pandemic and ageing explain shortages
The shortage of workers is nothing new, but it has worsened since economies began to recover after the pandemic. The fact is that during the health crisis, many workers left the sectors most affected by the restrictions associated with Covid-19 and these employers are now having serious difficulties finding talent.
The digital transformation is another reason behind the talent shortage, as companies are not finding workers with the right skills on the market for the available jobs.
“This scenario is compounded by factors such as demographic changes, with an ageing population and emigration, and growing global competition for qualified professionals,” says Rui Teixeira, country manager for Portugal at ManpowerGroup.
“In order to respond to this challenge, it is essential that organizations invest in training talent, in order to provide professionals with the desired skills, while promoting their future employability. It is equally important that they continue to focus on responding to the current preferences of professionals, which have also evolved considerably in recent years,” recommends the expert.
Rui Teixeira explains that flexible working models and salary increases are two of the things employers are focusing on to become more competitive in attracting and retaining talent.