With the global economy slowly recovering, predictions say employers will focus on maintaining financial flexibility. This means that when it comes to employees they are looking to hire, they are very specific about the skill sets their employees should possess. What this means to job seekers, according to Monster, is that there are in-demand jobs that are hard to fill, and if you aim and focus, there is no good reason why you should miss.

Talent is an elusive thing, and the manpower's fifth annual Talent Shortage Survey reports show talent shortage in many countries and industries. So despite high unemployment rates, 31 percent of employers around the world have difficulty filling key positions.

This is where you come in. If you know what these jobs are, you can focus on either developing or acquiring these skill sets. You can be specific - and therefore your chances of getting that in-demand job are reasonably high.

According to a survey of over 35,000 employers across 36 countries, the hardest-to-fill jobs are skilled tradespeople (electricians, carpenters, masons and plumbers), sales representatives, technicians and engineers.

In this line, the jobs said to be most in demand by employers in 2010 were:

1.                       Skilled Trades

2.                       Sales Representatives

3.                       Technicians

4.                       Engineers

5.                       Accounting and Finance Staff

6.                       Production Operators

7.                       Administrative Assistants / PAs

8.                       Management/Executives

9.                       Drivers

10.                   Laborers

The top 10 is little changed from 2009, though management and executive positions have apparently gotten slightly harder to fill. 
The survey also claims 34 percent of employers in the Americas are having problems filling positions because they can't find the talent they are looking for. If you have these skills or can acquire them, you have a leg up that makes you stand out from amongst all the other candidates out there.

Interestingly, there have been appeals to employers to recalibrate their mindsets and consider candidates without all the specific skills they think the job needs, and consider training people who are, for example, halfway there. However, until this happens, there is still a host of in-demand jobs out there that require specific skills that you could very well be sitting on.