Jobless find they're not qualified for old positions

WASHINGTON - The jobs crisis has brought an unwelcome discovery for many unemployed Americans: Job openings in their old fields exist. Yet they no longer qualify for them.

They're running into a trend that took root during the recession. Companies became more productive by doing more with fewer workers. Some asked staffers to take on a broader array of duties - duties that used to be spread among multiple jobs. Now, someone who hopes to get those jobs must meet the new requirements.

As a result, some database administrators now have to manage network security. Accountants must do financial analysis to find ways to cut costs. Factory assembly workers need to program computers to run machinery.

The broader responsibilities mean it's harder to fill many of the jobs that are open these days. It helps explain why many companies complain they can't find qualified people for certain jobs, even with 4.6 unemployed Americans, on average, competing for each opening. By contrast, only 1.8 people, on average, were vying for each job opening before the recession.

The total number of job openings does remain historically low: 3.2 million, down from 4.4 million before the recession. But the number of openings has surged 37 percent in the past year. And yet the unemployment rate has actually risen during that time.

The trend for combined skills is magnifying the obstacles facing the unemployed. Economists have long worried that millions of people who have lost jobs in depressed areas such as construction don't qualify for work in growing sectors such as health care. But it turns out that some of the jobless no longer even qualify for their old positions.

Frustrated in their efforts to find qualified applicants among the jobless, employers are turning to those who are already employed. "They're hiring a known quantity that already has this specific experience on their resume," said Cathy Farley of Accenture. "It is slowing some of the rehiring from the ranks of the unemployed."

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At the end of August, when economists revealed that the recession officially ended in June 2009, manufacturers advertised nearly 200,000 jobs, up 40 percent from a year ago. Yet hiring by manufacturers has risen less than 6 percent over that time - evidence that they are having a hard time finding qualified workers.

Employers who increasingly need multiskilled employees aren't willing to settle for less, human resource specialists say. Companies would rather wait and hold jobs vacant.