Why do Puerto Rican employers struggle to recruit and retain talent?

By Fátima Romero

Consulting firm ManpowerGroup shows in its most recent employment outlook survey for the second quarter of 2023 that 83% of employers are having difficulty hiring talent in Puerto Rico.

The survey, which included a sample size of 1,000 employers, revealed that 43% of companies plan for their workforce to grow between April and June, while 37% expect no change, 17% expect a reduction in personnel, and 3% do not know.

According to the report, which included a survey of 41 countries, Puerto Rico ranks fifth in terms of employers’ difficulty in recruiting talent, behind Taiwan, Germany, Hong Kong, and Portugal.

In a presentation, Melissa Rivera Roena, general manager of Manpower for Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic, said, “This is the complicated scenario for all industries right now on the island.”

She added that the talent shortage is a phenomenon being experienced globally.

“That’s the reality. We have more jobs than people who want to fill them.”

According to data compiled by Manpower, employers worldwide indicate that the complexity level in identifying talent is increasing, from 35% in 2013 to 77% in 2023, which Rivera Roena describes as “alarming.”

WHY IS IT SO DIFFICULT TO FIND TALENT?

In the opinion of Puerto Rican lawyer Mario Moczó, “As long as companies continue to demand people with experience, they will not find employees”.

He said many professionals with degrees but without work experience have gone to the United States “because, in Puerto Rico, they are not given the opportunity”.

Therefore, “companies will have to change their requirements, offer better benefits, provide good salary remuneration, and improve working conditions to find employees”.

A report by the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) and the company AON revealed that six out of 10 organizations face problems retaining employees.

The Manpower survey reveals that hiring expectations in Puerto Rico remained, as in the previous quarter, at 26%, placing the territory in 19th place worldwide, while 43% of the companies surveyed plan to hire new personnel; 17% expect to reduce their workforce; 37% do not plan to make changes; and 3% do not know if they will make changes.

The most competitive sector in Puerto Rico is communication services, with a 70% hiring outlook for the second quarter of this year.

Puerto Rico ranks third globally in the healthcare and life sciences sectors, with 42% for each, exceeding the global average by 18 percentage points.

Regarding geography, the most active labor markets are expected in the northern, southern, and western regions, and metropolitan and central regions have lower hiring intentions.

The strongest hiring expectation is expected in small businesses, of 10 to 49 employees, with an expectation of 45%.

The ManpowerGroup Employment Outlook Survey has been conducted independently since 1962, and this is the third time Puerto Rico has been included.

With information from Bloomberg