Do you just want a job, any job? When that's your situation, it's great to know there are certain industries in Georgia that just want workers – any qualified workers. A handful of Georgia industries are experiencing severe labor shortages, and some of them have been for a good, long while.
According to the Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey Highlights from July 2019 that was released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics on Sept. 10, 2019, job openings have increased steadily since the July 2009 low a decade ago, surpassing the pre-recession peak in August 2014.
Those steady increases mean most companies are hiring, and some industries are facing down a labor shortage. Within those industries, individual companies have lots of job openings and their human resources departments and recruiters are reporting a shortage of job applicants. The labor shortage may mean you have less competition for a given job role, which makes you more likely to get hired. An industry short on workers may even be willing to meet you in the middle if you're slightly under-qualified or need some accommodation in terms of the start date or extra training.
According to a September 7, 2019, Saporta Report, "employers in the Southeast have eliminated some drug testing because of the labor shortage." Citing the Sept. 4 edition of the Federal Reserve's "Beige Book," SP summed up other changes instigated by labor shortages: "Experience requirements have been lessened. Employers have relinquished total control of the time clock to workers, who are getting to use flex time (and) set their own hours as employers struggle to hire and retain staff."
Where are these plentiful jobs with highly motivated recruiters?
JOLTS reported 7.2 million open jobs nationwide on the last business day of July 2019. While that number is inconsequential if you're only concerned about available jobs you could fill in your own Georgia neighborhood, the BLS also computes a handy ratio of job openings compared to the number of unemployed workers for each hiring industry. (These figures are computed using the Beveridge Curve.) The industries with the highest ratio on the scale are the ones the hardest hit by labor shortages. Any number near 0.75 or higher indicates a substantial gap between workers needed and job applicants.
Here are the five industries in Georgia that have the most serious labor shortages based on Beveridge Curve ratios, according to the BLS. Each also has a bounty of Georgia job openings listed on Monster.com, with multiple individual jobs within a BLS industry category:
1. Education and health services
Number of job openings per every unemployed worker: 2.26
Sample job openings in Atlanta via Monster:
Nurses: 4,564 job listings
Teachers: 7,214 job listings
School districts in Atlanta are "hemorrhaging teachers" despite pay hikes, according to the AJC, creating one of the most substantial labor shortages among state industries.
2. Professional and business services
Number of job openings per every unemployed worker: 1.9
Sample job openings in Atlanta via Monster:
Accountants: 9,108 job listings
Number of job openings per every unemployed worker: 1.78
Sample job openings in Atlanta via Monster:
Insurance: 6,148 job listings
Number of job openings per every unemployed worker: 1.5
Job openings in Atlanta via Monster: 6,366
The open positions in Atlanta include anything from mail processors to attorneys who can work with government contracts.
Number of job openings per every unemployed worker: 1.4
Sample job openings in Atlanta via Monster: 3,235
These jobs vary widely and include cyber system administrators, desktop support specialists and android developers.
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