The head of Siemens USA, the American arm of the mammoth German engineering corporation, told the Financial Times that despite a stubbornly high unemployment rate, his company cannot find enough qualified workers.  In a taped interview, CEO Eric Spiegel says that Siemens USA has 3200 open jobs, most of which require a bachelor’s degree.

Siemens USA has actually hired recruiters to find qualified staff and lure them away from other companies.

Spiegel’s comments come in advance of a visit by U.S. Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner to a Siemens Plant.

The article also cites a recent Manpower survey [1], which found that half of the major American companies surveyed reported difficulties hiring essential staff – a number sharply up from previous years.

Watch the head of Siemens USA here [2]. The Financial Times article is available here [3]. (free registration required), and is reproduced on the CNBC website here [4].