The biggest obstacle to increasing employment is the legal maze that has been erected in the name of protecting employees. I remember when hiring was done by managers without it being filtered by the “professional” HR departments. The existence of the HR departments are to CYA for employers because of the potential for lawsuits.
There is an old Chinese proverb that states: Today’s problems were often yesterday’s solutions. Much of the well intended legal protections end up accomplishing the exact opposite of what they were intended to do. (example: age descrimination legislation)
Oh, man, I forgot about that one. I had directed a number of qualified engineers to apply for a job but none of them showed up on my list. I called one and he had applied, so I went to HR. I was told, oh, we need a black candidate. So you’re only getting the resumes from blacks. (Something to do with an EOE audit.)
At another company, they raised the pay of a totally worthless black engineer because it somehow gave them a better rating on the EOE audit. (I have no idea how EOE audits work, but I can tell you they just about make HR sh*t when they occur.)
Instead of satisfying the needs of the hiring manager, the HR department is aimed at a higher politically correct objective. Unfortunately, there is a nearby “historically black” engineering school that turns out straight-A electrical engineering students who have never heard of V=IR (the most fundamental electrical equation) and who cannot describe how a diode (passes current only one way) works. These poor people have been built up to believe they are super-qualified and they are bitterly disappointed when they end up on the production line stuffing parts in boards. But, what do you do with somebody who can’t write a coherent sentence or design the simplest circuit?