While U.S. government agencies struggle to compete with private industry for new IT talent, the recruitment situation and its remedies vary greatly around the world. Here is a roundup of a few recent reports tracking global employment trends:

• Traditional forms of compensation are not the only way to attract and retain employees, according to the Kelly Global Workforce Index released in August. Private employers are also looking for other means to motivate workers. For instance, Gen Y (aged 18-29), as well as Gen X (aged 30-47) are much more likely to be on some form of performance-based pay than those in the Baby Boomer generation (aged 48-65), according to the report. Among those not already on performance-based pay, Gen Y workers —also known by some as the Net Generation or Millennials-- are the most attracted to it.

Additionally, greater ownership in private business can motivate employees to perform at a higher level, with 60 percent of the Kelly survey respondents saying profit-sharing would be a big incentive. Kelly surveyed approximately 134,000 people in 29 countries across North America, Europe and the Asia-Pacific region.

The idea of giving employees a “slice of the pie” is gaining in appeal. Almost 40 percent of respondents say that some of their compensation is tied to individual, group or company performance targets. Of those who do not have such an arrangement, more than a third would like to see this practice adopted by their employers.
  
Geographically, 65 percent of those in the Asia-Pacific region say that profit sharing would motivate them to “perform more productively” — that’s higher than in North America and Europe. Aside from salary, the benefit that rates as most important to Asian employees is training, followed by flexible hours, health benefits, time off and retirement benefits.

In Europe, 78 percent say employers should take some responsibility for employee health and well-being, compared to 82 percent in Asia-Pacific.

• At the high end of the market, hiring seems to be picking up slightly. Another recent survey, conducted by the Association of Executive Search Consultants (AESC) shows that executive-level recruitment this year is rising more than it has in the past 15 months. North America seems to be emerging from the recession “first and strongest,” according to the report, followed by Asia-Pacific and other emerging markets. Europe is lagging, with flat results from quarter one to quarter two this year.

• Yet when viewed through another lens, the global labor market is worsening. In describing its newest report, the United Nation’s International Labour Organization (ILO), says that the world economic crisis has spurred a record increase in youth unemployment.
  

  “Global youth unemployment has reached its highest level on record, and is expected to increase through 2010,” the ILO said in the report, ILO Global Employment Trends for Youth 2010. The study was issued to coincide with the launch of the U.N. International Youth Year August 12.

  ILO says that “of some 620 million economically active youth aged 15 to 24 years, 81 million were unemployed at the end of 2009 — the highest number ever. This is 7.8 million more than the global number in 2007. The youth unemployment rate increased from 11.9 percent in 2007 to 13.0 percent in 2009.”

In most regions, young women continued to be the hardest hit by unemployment. Only in what the ILO calls “developed economies” and the European Union were young males harder hit. In particular, unemployed youths in the U.K. and Spain seem to be giving up their employment search in the greatest numbers.