Our economy is improving and hiring trends for 2015 are expected to reveal new jobs. A survey published by Dice Holdings revealed that 60% of employers are expected to increase hiring this year. This is exciting news, particularly for those who are seeking new jobs. However, over 4 in 10 of these companies reveal that they are still having trouble finding qualified applicants.

There seems to be a gap between the skills that employers are seeking and the skills candidates possess. For instance, if you’re already employed and have the desired skills, it will likely be a good job market for you. If you lack the desired skills, the job market likely won’t be the market you desire.

The jobs hardest to fill are for those people who’ve graduated high school, but did not graduate from a four year college. These are often positions such as truck drivers, sales managers, and factory workers. As a result of employers having trouble finding people who are qualified for certain positions, some employers have turned to replacing these jobs with machines.

Fortunately, there is optimism about the skill level discrepancy and hiring trends. It is thought that this mismatch of skills is temporary, and there are several signs to indicate this optimism is valid:

• There has been an increase in people quitting their jobs. This shows that people feel that they can find another job, and often a hire paying job.
• Consumer confidence is high and it is the highest it has been since the recession first began. The unemployment rate is also down.
• The economy is better than it was, though it may not benefit workers across the board. Middle class workers, such as those with jobs where the physical person is not a necessity, seem to be at the most risk of losing their jobs.

Overall, hiring for 2015 seems to be on an upswing, a great thing for anyone looking to take advantage of the job market.