It's a job seeker's market for educated professionals like accountants, engineers and nurses, according to a survey released today by Manpower Professional. With 45 percent of employers reporting difficulty filling these types of positions, the United States is among countries with the most serious talent shortages. The tight supply of professionals is putting upward pressure on wages with 38 percent of U.S. employers paying higher wages for the same positions compared to the previous year.

"This is a good time to be in the job market -- if you have the skills that employers want," said Jonas Prising, President of Manpower North America. "In the U.S., we've been seeing shortages in specific skill sets such as IT and engineering. If you're a job candidate, the key to taking advantage of the talent shortage is to focus on re-training or skills enhancement to ensure that your skills are in sync with the contemporary job market."

Positions are hardest to fill in manufacturing, specifically the durable goods sector, where 51 percent of employers reported difficulty finding qualified professional candidates. Shortages in the transportation and utilities sector were reported by 50 percent of employers, while 49 percent of employers in the service sector reported difficulty filling jobs.

The lack of professional talent is spurring the greatest wage inflation for government agencies where 43 percent of employers reported paying higher wages compared to last year. Additionally, 41 percent of employers in the service, transportation and utilities and construction sectors said they were paying higher salaries to recruit professionals.

Manpower Professional surveyed nearly 32,000 employers across 26 countries and territories in July and August to determine the availability of suitable professional candidates in the marketplace and the impact of available talent on wage inflation. The survey included 1,000 U.S. employers.

At 45 percent, the U.S. trails only Peru (46 percent) and is tied with Japan among countries reporting the most difficulty finding qualified professionals. Mexico is close behind at 41 percent. Globally, 29 percent of employers are unable to find qualified talent and 25 percent indicate that talent shortages are causing them to pay more for the same job than a year ago.

While the survey findings are encouraging for those seeking new or better positions, the news should serve as an alarm for employers to work harder to retain their existing professional employees and develop innovative ways to recruit top talent, according to Prising.

"The shortages are only going to get worse as more people reach retirement age," he said. "The companies with the strongest employer brands will be the big winners in the competition for talent. They will be able to attract and retain top people with appealing work environments, and salary and benefits packages that reflect the contemporary world of work.

The latest survey results build on the findings of Manpower's Talent Shortage Survey undertaken earlier this year, which revealed that many of the hardest to fill jobs among U.S. employers were positions requiring advanced training and skills, including sales representatives, engineers, nurses/healthcare workers, IT and production technicians and accountants.

Manpower Professional conducted a survey of 32,000 employers in 26 countries and territories to determine whether or not their organization would have hired more permanent professional staff over the past six months if it could have found more candidates with the right skills, and whether the talent shortages are causing their organization to pay higher salaries/compensation for professional positions as compared to a year ago. Professional positions refer to jobs that typically require a college degree, such as accountants, engineers, nurses, sales/marketing managers, etc. The 26 countries and territories that participated in the survey are: Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, China, Costa Rica, France, Germany, Hong Kong, India, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Peru, Singapore, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, the UK, and the U.S.