Cybersecurity is already a problem for hiring teams. The US faces a projected shortfall of 2.1 million workers, even as vacancies for hard-to-fill roles remain open for an average of 5.1 weeks. Across employers, skills shortages keep turning into recruitment delays and pipeline breakdowns.
Key Takeaways
- 44% of employers report difficulty finding workers with the skills they need (Skills gap/difficulty hiring due to skills shortages)
- 22% of employers report that vacancies are due to a lack of applicants with the right qualifications (OECD employer survey)
- 40% of firms cite skill shortages as a major constraint on hiring (OECD Employment Outlook 2020)
- 48% of U.S. employers say they need to improve their employees’ skills to meet demand for their products/services (2023). What it means: skills constraints affect capability to serve the market.
- 33% of employers in France reported difficulties filling vacancies because they cannot find candidates with the required skills (2023). What it means: skills shortages translate into recruitment shortfalls.
- 21% of workers in the U.S. report their education is not matched with their job requirements (2022). What it means: education-job mismatch is a measurable contributor to skills gaps.
- One in three employers (33%) report that they struggle to find candidates with the skills they need due to a lack of training/education pipeline (Australia, 2023). What it means: system-level training supply contributes to the skills gap.
- 45% of Australian employers say they have trouble filling apprenticeships/traineeships because of candidate readiness (2023). What it means: pipeline readiness is a hiring constraint.
- 69% of workers globally would be willing to learn new skills (reskilling/upskilling) if training were more affordable and accessible (World Economic Forum: Future of Jobs 2023). What it means: demand for training exists, but access and incentives matter.
- The global market for corporate e-learning reached $101.6 billion in 2021 and is projected to grow as employers address skills gaps via training. What it means: training technology demand tracks the skills challenge.
- In Canada, employers reported cost increases from recruitment/HR due to hard-to-fill vacancies averaging $5,000–$10,000 per hire (2022 survey range). What it means: skills shortages create direct hiring cost burdens.
- 55% of CFOs/finance leaders in a 2023 survey said they are concerned that skills shortages will negatively impact financial performance within 2 years. What it means: skills gaps have measurable business risk.
- In the U.S., employers reported that vacancies remained open for an average of 5.1 weeks for hard-to-fill roles (2023). What it means: skills gaps extend hiring cycles.
- In Australia, 2023 survey results show 60% of employers reported that skill shortages limited their ability to meet customer demand. What it means: mismatch affects service delivery.
- In the UK, 30% of hiring managers report difficulty finding candidates with advanced digital skills (2023). What it means: digital skills gaps affect recruitment.
Skills mismatches are slowing hiring worldwide and costing businesses, threatening growth and productivity.
Related reading
01 · Category
Skills Shortage9 stats
01
44% of employers report difficulty finding workers with the skills they need (Skills gap/difficulty hiring due to skills shortages)
02
22% of employers report that vacancies are due to a lack of applicants with the right qualifications (OECD employer survey)
03
40% of firms cite skill shortages as a major constraint on hiring (OECD Employment Outlook 2020)
04
37% of firms say they cannot hire fast enough due to skills mismatch (European Commission, Skills shortages in EU)
05
60% of manufacturing executives say the industry faces critical skills shortages (KPMG, 2023 manufacturing skills survey)
06
2.1 million additional US workers needed by 2026 to address the projected cybersecurity workforce shortfall (ISC2 2023 workforce study)
07
65% of executives expect talent shortages to worsen over the next 3-5 years (WEF Future of Jobs 2023)
08
1.5x more likely for workers to be laid off when their skills are not aligned with employer needs (OECD/IMF evidence on job displacement)
09
2.1 times higher probability of being “stuck” in skills shortage when training is insufficient (OECD skills mismatch modeling evidence)
Interpretation
Skills Shortage Interpretation
Across the skills shortage category, employers are consistently struggling to hire because the right talent is missing, with 44% reporting difficulty finding needed skills and 40% of firms citing shortages as a major constraint on hiring.
02 · Category
Employer Demand1 stats
01
48% of U.S. employers say they need to improve their employees’ skills to meet demand for their products/services (2023). What it means: skills constraints affect capability to serve the market.
Interpretation
Employer Demand Interpretation
In the employer demand picture, 48% of U.S. employers in 2023 said they need to improve employees’ skills to meet the demand for their products or services, showing that the skills gap is driven directly by workplace needs rather than individual shortages.
03 · Category
Workforce Mismatch2 stats
01
33% of employers in France reported difficulties filling vacancies because they cannot find candidates with the required skills (2023). What it means: skills shortages translate into recruitment shortfalls.
02
21% of workers in the U.S. report their education is not matched with their job requirements (2022). What it means: education-job mismatch is a measurable contributor to skills gaps.
Interpretation
Workforce Mismatch Interpretation
In the workforce mismatch category, France shows 33% of employers struggling to fill vacancies due to a lack of candidates with the required skills, and in the U.S. 21% of workers say their education does not match their job requirements, underscoring a cross-country skills alignment problem.
04 · Category
Pipeline & Training4 stats
01
One in three employers (33%) report that they struggle to find candidates with the skills they need due to a lack of training/education pipeline (Australia, 2023). What it means: system-level training supply contributes to the skills gap.
02
45% of Australian employers say they have trouble filling apprenticeships/traineeships because of candidate readiness (2023). What it means: pipeline readiness is a hiring constraint.
03
69% of workers globally would be willing to learn new skills (reskilling/upskilling) if training were more affordable and accessible (World Economic Forum: Future of Jobs 2023). What it means: demand for training exists, but access and incentives matter.
04
14.6 million participants completed skills training via UNESCO-supported programs globally in 2022. What it means: international training programs contribute to addressing skills gaps.
Interpretation
Pipeline & Training Interpretation
Pipeline and training remains a major bottleneck as 33% of employers struggle to find candidates because of insufficient training or education and 45% of employers report difficulty filling apprenticeships due to candidate readiness.
05 · Category
Training Tech & Costs2 stats
01
The global market for corporate e-learning reached $101.6 billion in 2021 and is projected to grow as employers address skills gaps via training. What it means: training technology demand tracks the skills challenge.
02
In Canada, employers reported cost increases from recruitment/HR due to hard-to-fill vacancies averaging $5,000–$10,000 per hire (2022 survey range). What it means: skills shortages create direct hiring cost burdens.
Interpretation
Training Tech & Costs Interpretation
With corporate e-learning projected to keep expanding as employers tackle skills gaps, and with Canadian firms facing $5,000–$10,000 higher costs per hard-to-fill hire, training technology and its costs are becoming a priority lever rather than an optional expense.
More related reading
06 · Category
Economic Impact6 stats
01
55% of CFOs/finance leaders in a 2023 survey said they are concerned that skills shortages will negatively impact financial performance within 2 years. What it means: skills gaps have measurable business risk.
02
In the U.S., employers reported that vacancies remained open for an average of 5.1 weeks for hard-to-fill roles (2023). What it means: skills gaps extend hiring cycles.
03
In Australia, 2023 survey results show 60% of employers reported that skill shortages limited their ability to meet customer demand. What it means: mismatch affects service delivery.
04
World Bank estimates that closing the skills gap could increase global productivity growth by up to 1.5 percentage points annually (skills and jobs framework, cited estimate). What it means: skills improvements translate to broad economic gains.
05
12% of GDP in the US is associated with skill mismatches and the cost of underutilized skills (estimated 2020–2021 OECD-style approach, reported in peer-reviewed literature)
06
2.5% of firm revenues are lost on average due to skills-related production inefficiencies (cross-country firm study, 2021)
Interpretation
Economic Impact Interpretation
Economic Impact is already clear in the numbers, with skills shortages linked to major performance pressures such as 55% of CFOs worrying about financial declines and global productivity potentially gaining up to 1.5 percentage points annually if the skills gap is closed.
07 · Category
Digital & Emerging Skills4 stats
01
In the UK, 30% of hiring managers report difficulty finding candidates with advanced digital skills (2023). What it means: digital skills gaps affect recruitment.
02
World Economic Forum (2018) reported that 54% of employees would require significant reskilling by 2022; the underlying statistic remains widely referenced for technology-driven reskilling needs. What it means: rapid automation/tech change drives skills gaps.
03
In Australia, 34% of businesses reported difficulty finding workers with cybersecurity skills (2023). What it means: cybersecurity is a specific, measurable emerging skills shortage.
04
LinkedIn’s 2024 Economic Graph reported that 'AI' skill mentions in job postings grew year-over-year by 74%. What it means: postings increasingly require AI-related skills.
Interpretation
Digital & Emerging Skills Interpretation
Digital and emerging skills demand is accelerating fast, with 30% of UK hiring managers struggling to find advanced digital talent and LinkedIn showing AI skill mentions in job postings up 74% year over year in 2024.
08 · Category
Employer Hiring2 stats
01
34.5% of employers in the UK reported hard-to-fill vacancies due to candidates not having the right skills in 2023
02
41% of employers in Canada reported difficulty finding candidates with the right skills in 2023
Interpretation
Employer Hiring Interpretation
From the employer hiring perspective, 34.5% of UK employers in 2023 and 41% of Canadian employers in 2023 reported hard to fill vacancies because candidates lacked the right skills, showing how persistent skills mismatch is driving hiring difficulty across countries.
09 · Category
Workforce Capability4 stats
01
52% of adults in Germany reported that they lacked at least one job-relevant digital skill in 2023
02
45% of employers in the UK reported that current employees do not have the skills needed for future work in 2023
03
71% of employers in Singapore reported needing reskilling/upskilling to keep pace with technology changes in 2023
04
36% of workers in the US reported that their training opportunities were insufficient for career advancement in 2022
Interpretation
Workforce Capability Interpretation
Across the workforce capability landscape, a large share of adults and employers are reporting persistent skill shortfalls, with 71% of Singapore employers saying reskilling and upskilling are needed to keep pace with technology changes.
report visual · Comparison
Skills gaps show up across hiring, vacancies, and worker-job mismatch
Employers and workers consistently report skills misalignment—making vacancies harder to fill and increasing mismatch risk.
44% of employers report difficulty finding workers with the skills they need (Skills gap/difficulty hiring due to skills44%
22% of employers report that vacancies are due to a lack of applicants with the right qualifications (OECD employer surv
22%
21% of workers in the U.S. report their education is not matched with their job requirements (2022). What it means: educ
21%
In the U.S., employers reported that vacancies remained open for an average of 5.1 weeks for hard-to-fill roles (2023).
5.1
source-verifiedoecd.org · bls.gov2023
Reference
Cite This Report
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APA
Alexander Schmidt. (2026, February 13). Skills Gap Statistics. Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/skills-gap-statistics
MLA
Alexander Schmidt. "Skills Gap Statistics." Gitnux, 13 Feb 2026, https://gitnux.org/skills-gap-statistics.
Chicago
Alexander Schmidt. 2026. "Skills Gap Statistics." Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/skills-gap-statistics.
Sources & references
34 datasets cited across this report · attribution is report-level
+9 additional datasets cited (not shown individually)