Persistent labor shortages continue to pose a challenge for businesses

The labour shortage challenge persists

The percentage of companies experiencing staff shortages as the biggest challenge to further growth remains high. In the second quarter of 2023, a staggering 42% of entrepreneurs stated that the labour shortage was the primary obstacle to growth. While slightly lower than the peak in the third quarter of 2022 (46%), finding skilled workers remains a structural challenge in the IT sector.

Most IT entrepreneurs still remain optimistic about the future, with a large majority (88%) expecting to either maintain or increase their investments this year. Nonetheless, the percentage of entrepreneurs experiencing insufficient demand as the main growth impediment increased by 4% to 13% for all companies. On the other hand, 85% of the sector's businesses saw improvements or increased stability in profitability in the second quarter of 2023.

 

43% of entrepreneurs cite ongoing labour shortages as the primary obstacle to growth

Percentage of IT companies that sees labour shortage as biggest challenge to growth

 

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Could AI be the magic fix?

Given the severe labour shortage, it is not surprising that the number of job vacancies in the TMT sector remains high. The number of open vacancies increased slightly by approximately 300 in the first quarter of 2023, and we're seeing a particular shortage of developers.