Traditional metrics for measuring US unemployment do not accurately represent the true nature of the employment market, according to a study released by Wanted Technologies.

The report, “Inequality of Skill Shortages Across US Occupations and Locations,” measured job vacancy and unemployment rates for the pre- and post-recession periods by occupation and region. The research found companies in industries that did not typically focus on software-driven efficiencies before the 2008-2009 recession have emerged with new needs for those skills. However, many of these organizations reside in regions where the base of available workers does not match the new demand.

“Looking at the unemployment numbers as we have historically tells a very small part of the story, and if we continue to look through this limiting lens, it will have a direct impact on economic recovery and job growth,” said Wanted Technologies President and CEO Meredith Amdu.

Findings from the report include:

• The employment recovery and emerging skills gap in key occupations are not playing out evenly. Miami, Los Angeles, and Denver metropolitan areas show the highest skills gaps, while Minneapolis, San Jose/San Francisco, and Boston emerged relatively stable and able to meet demand.
• Minneapolis and Silicon Valley are well positioned for current market needs because they have been attracting and maintaining skills consistent with the need in those metropolitan statistical areas. But New York and Los Angeles are facing much larger gaps.
• Construction and legal occupations did not face a skills gap after the recession. Hiring has stabilized to pre-recession levels with little subsequent gap in the supply of appropriately skilled employees.
• A skills gap in STEM jobs was not apparent until 2013 but continues today. In the first two years of recovery post recession, the demand in STEM fields grew twice as fast as the overall average demand and, as of 2013, supply could not continue fast enough to keep up with demand.