Manufacturing, competing with distribution, struggles to attract labor A recent survey found that manufacturers are having trouble filling 46% of open positions due to a mismatch in skills. Published May 11, 2021 Drew Angerer via Getty Images Hiring has been an issue for manufacturers in the U.S. for years now. When Deloitte last looked at the issue in 2018, low unemployment was underscored as being part of the problem. But a new report on hiring in manufacturing found the issue persisted in 2020, a time of high unemployment during the pandemic. "Fast forward three years and, amid a global pandemic and the first US recession in more than a decade, it would appear the same headline stands," Deloitte wrote in its most recent report on the skills gap in manufacturing.