The table illustrates the percentage of employers in various sectors having difficulty in finding staff in 2003 and 2004.
Overall, an upward trend can be observed in the figures for skilled and unskilled workers, while the opposite trend was seen in the percentage of employers having difficulty finding technical and managerial staff. While manufacturing became the dominant category for skilled workers in 2004, services experienced the most significant increase in the unskilled-worker category. By contrast, commerce consistently recorded the lowest figure for technical and managerial staff.
In 2003, commerce led the category of skilled workers, standing at 47%, while manufacturing and building followed at 45% and 42%, respectively. By comparison, services had the lowest figure, at 41%. However, the subsequent year witnessed a main change in this pattern. While manufacturing rose sharply to 51%, building and services also increased to 45%, whereas commerce declined to 41%.
In contrast to the trends observed in skilled workers, the figures for technical and managerial staff decreased across all sectors. Although building remained the highest, its figure fell from 14% to 10%, followed by manufacturing, which declined from 8% to 6%. Services also experienced a decrease from 5% to 2%, while commerce remained the lowest, falling from 2% to 0%.