1.0 Hays Global Skills Index

Introduction

The Hays Global Skills Index is the only comprehensive overview of the professional global labour market and offers insights into the challenges faced by organisations as they search for the most sought-after skilled talent. It provides insight into the employment and economic status of the 33 countries included in the report, offering insights from Hays experts across the globe.

On this site, you can use the Index to compare the scores for each individual country, including a breakdown of the seven indicators that determine it.

2.0 Summary

2018 Key findings

3.0 Understanding the Index

Seven Indicators

4.0 Discover

Countries

5.0 Calculate & Compare

Comparison Tool

Overall Score

6.0 Part I

Summary

The Hays Global Skills Index 2018 shows that global labour market conditions have become more pressured in the last year, with the Overall Index score rising from 5.3 in 2017 to 5.4 in 2018. Global economic growth is expected to gather momentum over the next twelve months, but productivity and wage growth is not matching this.

The Index examines the Global Productivity Puzzle, as labour productivity levels across the globe, particularly in Europe, the Middle East and the Americas, have flatlined since the global financial crisis. The report looks at the various reasons behind this poor growth.

The report has highlighted there is a growing talent mismatch between the skills workers possess and those required by employers. Almost half of the countries assessed have seen a rise in the rate of unfilled employment vacancies in 2018. Overall across all countries talent mismatch is now at its highest point since the Index began in 2012.

6.0 Part II

Summary

The difference in average working hours and significant gender gaps between the 33 countries is prominent, the report looks at the potential reasons behind this. In all markets featured within the report, women are less likely to participate in the labour market, and when they do, they are less likely to find employment.

Birth rates are falling and life expectancy is rising across the globe, and population ageing is predicted to accelerate further in the coming years. An ageing workforce is a longer-term trend which has the potential to disrupt the business landscape dramatically in the coming years

Some of the research raises important questions, such as the fact that the share of national income that workers receive is shrinking. Could this be down to factors like machine learning, developments in AI and the growing use of robots in industry? The answer is, of course, more complex than a simple yes or no. However, in essence, we can ascertain that policy-makers must try to ensure professionals possess the right skills to take advantage of new opportunities.

To learn about these issues impacting the global skilled labour market and more, read the latest Hays Global Skills Index.

In partnership with Oxford Economics

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