It goes without saying, but 2016 was quite the year. Politics aside, the past twelve months represented some shake-ups in the employment ecosystem. With the year coming to a close, many talent acquisition professionals are hopeful for the start of a new beginning. However, historical data from 2016 elludes to a foggy forecast for a number of already difficult to fill positions.

Like the bum-rush of shoppers on Black Friday, each year the talent acquisition industry braces itself for the numerous lists of the toughest positions to hire. Ultimately, these jobs will impact various aspects of workforce planning, budgeting, and internal resources within the organization.

Get ahead of 2017 hiring. Request your copy of the Career Builder Talent Supply and Demand Report to spot the most difficult to fill positions.

Looking back at SHRM's toughest jobs to fill in 2016, we compared this, as well as several other jobs lists, against current hiring trends. While there are a few obvious trends that are sure to carry over into 2017, other hiring trends are a bit trickier to spot.

HIRING SNAPSHOT 

• Healthcare staffing will grow increasingly more challenging as a result of the latest election combined with a very low candidate supply. 
• Technology jobs, while generally difficult to hire, will grow even more competitive in key technology-based positions. 
• Skilled labor jobs, particularly machinist jobs, will go unfilled due to lack of qualified candidates combined with less than ideal salary offerings by employers.
• A number of factors contributed to the Engineering Skills Gap, including a higher degree of qualifications and a lack of employee development. Employers looking for qualified engineering talent will need to critically evaluate their hiring criteria. 
• Employers with openings in white collar jobs, particular those in sales and management, are facing increased challenges. Some conclude this to be a result of the generational gap between baby boomers, millenials, and gen-Z as well as a shift in selling and management communications; i.e. digitally-based selling, new management styles. etc.

Healthcare Jobs

Recently Posted Healthcare Job Titles 

• Medical Assistant
• Registered Nurse
• Licensed Practical Nurse
• Certified Nursing Assistant
• Home Health Aides

Active Candidate Trend View Year-Over-Year

Job Posting Trends View Year-Over-Year

Information Technology Jobs

Recently Posted Information Technology Job Titles

• Project Manager
• IT Manager
• IT Specialist
• Director of Information Technology
• Technical Support Specialist

Active Candidate Trend View Year-Over-Year

Job Posting Trends View Year-Over-Year

Skilled Labor Jobs

Recently Posted Skilled Labor Job Titles

• Laborer
• General Laborer
• Construction Worker
• Skilled Labor
• Production Associate
  
  

Active Candidate Trend View Year-Over-Year

Job Posting Trends View Year-Over-Year

Engineering

Recently Posted Job Titles

• Software Engineer
• Project Engineer
• Mechanical Engineer
• Quality Engineer
• Process Engineer

Active Candidates Trend View Year-Over-Year

Job Posting Trends View Year-Over-Year

Professional White Collar Jobs

Recently Posted Job Titles

1. Customer Service Rep
2. Sales Associate
3. Financial Representative
4. Account Executive
5. Pharmacy Technician

Active Candidate Trend View Year-Over-Year

Job Posting Trends View Year-Over-Year

About the data : The data from this report was generated by Career Builder's Talent Supply & Demand Report, a real-time data aggregator. The report findings are based on search criteria from October 2014 - November 2015.