The 10 hardest jobs to fill in America

According to a story on Forbes.com, you're working in one of the toughest jobs to fill. For the second year in a row, engineers ranked No. 1 as the most sought-after workers in staffing firm Manpower's list. Why are engineers so hard to find? “We have whole generations of people loving liberal arts, not going into science and math,” said Larry Jacobson, executive director of the Na...

By Edited By Bettina Chang, Editorial Intern July 1, 2009

According to a story on Forbes.com , you’re working in one of the toughest jobs to fill. For the second year in a row, engineers ranked No. 1 as the most sought-after workers in staffing firm Manpower’s list.

Why are engineers so hard to find? “We have whole generations of people loving liberal arts, not going into science and math,” said Larry Jacobson, executive director of the National Society of Professional Engineers.

Other professions on the Manpower list of the 10 hardest jobs to fill in the United States: information technology staffer, nurse, machinist, sales representative, technician, truck driver, teacher, unskilled laborer, and skilled trade worker (bricklayer, carpenter, electrician, etc.) The survey of 2,019 employers was done in the first quarter of 2009.

It might be hard to believe that any employer is struggling to fill positions, since the unemployment rate reached 8.9% in April, up from 5% a year before. But the Manpower survey found that employers are having a hard time filling jobs for skilled workers in specific niches. “The overall unemployment rate is a killer,” said Jonas Prising, Manpower’s president for the Americas. “To see something better, you have to look at specific jobs.”