US Professional and Technical Services Sector NAICS 54

Apr 25, 2025 - Skills Gap Becoming a Problem For Employers

• Employers in the US are increasingly hiring employees based on skills criteria and deemphasizing past job experience, according to global recruiting firm Hudson RPO. A survey of HR professionals in the US found that 60% of recruiters are placing more importance on transferable skills - capabilities that apply to different jobs and industries - than the historically standard educational and work experience qualifications. Workers who display transferable skills such as communications, leadership, and flexibility should have a leg up. The trend dovetails with data from consulting firm McKinsey & Company that says 90% of companies either currently have or will experience skills gaps in their workforce in the next five years. About 53% of employers told McKinsey they are tackling the problem by reskilling current employees, while the rest are relying more on skills-based hiring, shifting workers to different roles in an organization, and hiring more outside contractors.
• Companies are cutting their middle management ranks to streamline operations and save money, according to a recent survey on employee and employer power dynamics by Korn Ferry. About half of the 15,000 professionals surveyed report middle management cuts in their organization. But removing that layer can make rank-and-file employees feel directionless and forces senior leadership into a more operational role than a strategic one. Accordingly, about 72% of US senior management told Korn Ferry they are, “stretched beyond their capabilities.” The survey also found that employees are not fans of return-to-office mandates, with 64% of professional workers saying they prefer a hybrid model instead. Pay is always a source of tension between employees and management, and while 66% of those surveyed were satisfied with their compensation, 72% feel that cost of living increases in the larger economy will cut into their earnings.

• Electronic monitoring of in-person and remote workers by employers is on the rise, according to a recent study by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. The study found that about 80% of employers use some kind of system that monitors online activity, employee location, and even records keystrokes, among other methods. The trend risks further eroding employee/employer trust. According to Gartner Research’s HR Advisory Group, only 52% of employees stated that they trusted their employers and 62% of employers trusted their employees. Hiring trends increasingly show that trusted managers are as important to new hires almost as much as pay - about 92% per video conferencing company Owl Labs. As the use of monitoring tools grows, so does employee stress with recent surveys showing employees took less breaks, felt pressure to work faster, and would consider leaving a job if surveillance increased too much.
• Losses in the financial services industry could top $40 billion by 2027, mostly due to GenAI scams, according to Delotte’s Center for Financial Services. It is a substantial increase from the $12.3 billion the industry lost from fraud in 2023. The Financial Regulatory Authority reports that scammers have increasingly used AI to target financial institutions. Everything from creating phony documents to open brokerage accounts or steal an existing account to deepfake audio and video of trusted investment advisors and imposter websites asking for money. The FBI has warned the industry of the risks, and so far many financial institutions have been cautious with how they incorporate the technology, limiting GenAI to eliminating more mundane tasks such as research and data analysis.