"The only employment problem I have (and I've talked with a bunch of other businessmen in my area who have the same problem) is that it's impossible to find people to hire, they just aren't out there. I have to go try to steal employees from my competitors."
Tuesday evening I went fishing with a friend who is a consultant in the health care business for profits and non profits. He said the biggest challenge for all the CEOs and execs and small owners is the shortage of skilled labor in the market.
Many of the CEO's and independent owners have gone to a bounty system. If an employee recommends a person who is hired, they get a bonus. If that person is still there after 6 months, the person who recommended them, gets another bonus. Then, if the new hire recommends someone, they get a bonus and so does the person who recommended the new hire.
One of the things I have found to be true, at least in my area, in findinding skilled labor, is the requirements. There may be 5 people that know all about a system, say version2, and are perfectly capable of learning versions 3 and 4, but are not hired, because they do not have version 3 or 4 experience. The market is so specialised, that it hurts itself. A perfect example are IT jobs requiring Microsoft or Cisco certifications. There are lots of techs around, that either already know how, or can learn real fast, but are not getting hired, because someone in HR, says they need a certification.