Where Are All the Skilled Labors ??

"The biggest problem with job growth right now isn't too few new jobs. It's too few skilled workers."

There is buzz around the industry that companies can't exploit market opportunity because they can't find people with the right skills. Experts say that job growth and the economy would be significantly stronger if employers could find the skilled workers they really need. There would virtually be no long-term unemployment for skilled workers. The demand and supply is way out of proportion which means unfortunately companies have to do with lesser skilled workers. The economic growth would be much faster if there were more of skilled workers available. Some experts say part of the blame for the slowdown in the economy can be laid on labor constraints and visa problems.

The employers are quoting that their inability to find the workers with the skillset they need is one of their top problems. Most employers are looking to grab such skilled worker from other employers to fill their void, or hire them from outside the country, or hire someone without the desired skills. All this leads to drop in productivity level of the company. Alot of employers are holding on their workers and throwing in incentives to keep them. Experts think this trend will continue for a longer period (say a decade), with alot of Baby Boomer start leaving the work force. There will be some relief in 2012-2015 when demographic trends should start to help.

Now this is good news for the working class. This adds more stability to their life. However possessing right skill-set would be a super super edge right now...

This is bad for most companies, especially auto industry. I would definitely avoid those stocks...

Interesting fact:
* Job growth rose by 132,000 in 2005.
* Job growth rose by 115,000 in 2006. This indicates 11% drop in job growth even though in 2005 we had 2 horrible hurricanes.
* The overall the unemployment rate stands at 4.5 percent.
* There were 4.2 million job openings in October, up 8.8 percent from a year earlier, while hirings rose just 1.5 percent. Meanwhile, the number of workers quitting, retiring, getting fired or laid-off grew only 0.6 percent.

Recommendation:

* Keep away from Ford Motor Company (Ticker: F) with EPS of -3.35 and Future EPS = -6.06. Ford Motor Company (Ford) is a producer of cars and trucks. The Company and its subsidiaries also engage in other businesses, including financing vehicles. Ford operates in two segments: Automotive and Financial Services. The Automotive sector includes the operations of The Americas, Ford Europe and Premier Automotive Group, and Ford Asia Pacific and Africa/Mazda segments. The Financial Services sector includes the operations of Ford Motor Credit Company (Ford Credit), which is engaged in vehicle-related financing, leasing, and insurance.

* Keep away from General Motors Corp (Ticker: GM) with EPS of -16.93. General Motors Corporation (GM) is primarily engaged in automotive production and marketing, and financing and insurance operations. GM designs, manufactures and markets vehicles worldwide, having its largest operating presence in North America. The Company's finance and insurance operations are principally those of General Motors Acceptance Corporation (GMAC), a wholly owned subsidiary, which provides a range of financial services, including automotive finance and mortgage products and services. GM markets its vehicles and provides financing for those products through a network of independent retail dealers and distributors in the United States, Canada and Mexico, and through distributors and dealers overseas.