Believe it or not in this economy, there are jobs out there that some companies are struggling to fill.

Despite high unemployment, several area firms in a variety of industries are having difficulty finding people who can work in advanced technical roles, such as software development, as well as lower-level positions that require more skill and responsibility than in the past.

Some companies have had open positions lingering for months, and a few said they have to hire recruiters to find candidates outside of San Antonio.

The economy is shifting toward a higher-skilled labor force and the need for technologically adept employees is rising faster than it can be met, said Keith Phillips, a senior economist at the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas in San Antonio.

For Bill Cox, president of Cox Manufacturing in San Antonio, the problem is clear: He has three open positions, and when he looks at the labor pool, he sees a dearth of skilled machinists to fill them.

“Even at the entry level, we'll look at 100 applicants and not find one that we want to put in our program,” he said. “If you've got a guy who can't count change past two decimal places, there's no way he can learn to operate precision machinery,” he said.

As manufacturing becomes more technical, lower-skilled workers get pushed out, he said, adding: “The people left have to know more than they ever have before.”

A May survey by staffing firm Manpower Inc. found Cox's situation is not unusual: 52 percent of American companies surveyed said they had difficulty finding people qualified enough to work mission-critical jobs — an all-time survey high. Companies reported that skilled trade, sales representative and engineering positions were the most challenging jobs to fill.

“There does seem to be already some issues about the skills of the (Texas) workforce that are very concerning,” Phillips said. Last year, Rice University demographer Steve Murdock predicted that by 2040, three in 10 Texas workers won't have high school educations.

The combination of a high dropout rate and the lack trade skills programs in high schools, Phillips said, means “there's a great proportion of the population that's going to have a difficult time finding jobs.”

At Instruments Technology Machinery, a high-end manufacturer, vice president of operations John Dewey hasn't been able to fill positions for systems design engineer and experienced machinist for months.

More Information Help wanted - dearly From the Manpower Inc. Talent Shortage Survey: In 2011, 52 percent of American companies have difficulty filling positions - the highest figure in the survey's history. In 2010, 14 percent of companies reported such difficulties. Lack of skills, experience and knowledge were the most common reasons cited for the difficulties. Positions most difficult to fill: skilled trades workers, sales representatives and engineers. The report cited an "an over-supply of available workers but an under-supply of skilled talent." See More Collapse

“There aren't any people of that skill level we're aware of that are sitting around looking for work,” he said.

The creation of skilled trade academies for high schools students through the Alamo Colleges has helped fill some positions in the manufacturing industry, said Becky Bridges, a spokeswoman for the Greater San Antonio Chamber of Commerce. But while 638 students have graduated from the programs since the creation of the first academy in 2002, Cox said more needs to be done to expose students to manufacturing career opportunities.

It's not just high-skills manufacturing jobs that are going unfilled. For some companies in San Antonio's growing technology sector, finding local talent is a challenging, too.

At Rackspace Hosting Inc., director of recruiting John Coldwater said about 130 jobs are currently open. He is confident they'll eventually be filled, but said that for more advanced software development positions, the company usually has to find candidates in other cities.

“We don't see many of those people on the market for those jobs,” he said.

GlobalScape Inc., a cyber security company, currently has eight open positions, said Andrea Farmer, vice president of human resources for the company.

The firm struggles to find candidates for higher-level technical support and senior software engineer positions locally, so it often pays to recruit and relocate out-of-town employees.

“As we grow, (recruiting) seems to be more difficult because there's just not a large pool” of talent to choose from, Farmer said.

Jeffrey Reich, director of operations for the Institute for Cyber Security at the University of Texas at San Antonio, said that even if every local college student studying cyber security stayed here after graduating, it still wouldn't be enough to meet the growing demand.

“Relocation is going to become a main part of the hiring process,” he said.