Minnesota Job Vacancy Survey
State and Regional JVS Detail
Future Hiring
Download historical data (EXCEL)
Summary of Major Findings
There were an estimated 51,700 job vacancies in Minnesota during second quarter 2008, down 17.3 percent from one year ago but up 2.2 percent from six months ago. Figure 1 compares the number of job vacancies with the number of unemployed persons each survey round since the survey began in fourth quarter 2000.
These 51,700 job vacancies translate into a job vacancy rate of 2.0 percent—or two job vacancies for every 100 filled positions in Minnesota. This was down from the vacancy rate of 2.4 percent one year ago.
During second quarter 2008, there were 2.9 unemployed people for each vacancy statewide. One year ago, there were about 2.1 unemployed people for each vacancy. This increase in the number of unemployed compared to the number of vacancies was driven both by an increase in the number of unemployed as well as a decrease in the number of job vacancies (see Figure 1) and indicates that the labor market is less favorable for job seekers than any other period during the history of the job vacancy series dating back to fourth quarter 2000. Table 1 provides these historical data.
Table 1
| Job Vacancies in Minnesota by Quarter |
| |
Number of
Job Vacancies |
Number of
Vacancies
per 100 Jobs |
Number of
Unemployed
per Vacancy |
| 4th Quarter 2000 |
139,967 |
4.9 |
0.6 |
| 2nd Quarter 2001 |
115,072 |
4.5 |
0.9 |
| 4th Quarter 2001 |
79,793 |
3.1 |
1.4 |
| 2nd Quarter 2002 |
69,715 |
2.8 |
1.9 |
| 4th Quarter 2002 |
56,166 |
2.2 |
2.0 |
| 2nd Quarter 2003 |
53,246 |
2.1 |
2.6 |
| 4th Quarter 2003 |
50,439 |
2.0 |
2.6 |
| 2nd Quarter 2004 |
66,543 |
2.6 |
2.0 |
| 4th Quarter 2004 |
51,137 |
2.0 |
2.3 |
| 2nd Quarter 2005 |
59,513 |
2.3 |
1.9 |
| 4th Quarter 2005 |
61,554 |
2.4 |
1.8 |
| 2nd Quarter 2006 |
64,958 |
2.5 |
1.7 |
| 4th Quarter 2006 |
55,736 |
2.1 |
2.0 |
| 2nd Quarter 2007 |
62,569 |
2.4 |
2.1 |
| 4th Quarter 2007 |
50,594 |
1.9 |
2.5 |
| 2nd Quarter 2008 |
51,722 |
2.0 |
2.9 |
Where Are the Job Vacancies?
About 59 percent of all job vacancies, 30,500, are located in the Twin Cities seven-county area while the remaining 21,300 are in Greater Minnesota. Greater Minnesota has a job vacancy rate of 2.1 percent while the Twin Cities job vacancy rate is 1.9 percent. Compared to one year ago, the number of job vacancies slipped by 15.7 percent in Greater Minnesota and by 18.4 percent in the Twin Cities. The ratio of unemployed to job vacancies was less favorable in Greater Minnesota than in the Twin Cities Metropolitan area during second quarter 2008. In Greater Minnesota there are 3.5 unemployed people per job vacancy while there were 2.5 unemployed people per job vacancy in the Twin Cities Seven County Planning Region.
By industry, the Healthcare sector continues to have the greatest number of job vacancies over all other industry groups, followed by Accommodation & Food Service, Retail, and Manufacturing, which slipped from second place during fourth quarter 2007 to fourth place during second quarter 2008.
By size, firms with more than 50 employees account for 64.2 percent of total job vacancies. Very small firms, those with fewer than 10 employees, had the lowest job vacancy rate at 1.7 percent.
What Are the Characteristics of Job Vacancies?
The Job Vacancy Survey gathers information on the characteristics of job vacancies including education and experience requirements, wage and benefit offers, and whether job vacancies are temporary or seasonal, and part- or full-time. Some key characteristics of the job vacancies available during second quarter 2008 are as follows:
- Thirty-eight percent of job vacancies were for part-time employment. Part-time is defined as fewer than 35 hours per week.
- Nineteen percent of job vacancies were for temporary or seasonal work.
- Thirty-nine percent of vacancies required some level of post-secondary education or training beyond a high school diploma. This means that the majority of vacancies required no education beyond a high school diploma or equivalent.
- Thirty-three percent require experience related to the position.
- The median (50th percentile) wage offer for all job vacancies is $10.58 per hour. Wage offers are highly correlated with experience and education requirements: On average, the higher the education and/or experience required, the higher the wage offer.
- Sixty-four percent of vacancies offer health insurance. Health care benefits are less common for part-time job vacancies than for full-time job vacancies.
How Does This Year Compare to Last?
The following tables provide a comparison of the number of job vacancies by occupational group (Table 2.1) and industry sector (Table 2.2) between second quarters 2007 and 2008.
Table 2.1
| Comparison of 2Q 2008 to 2Q 2007 by Occupational Group |
| |
Minnesota |
Greater Minnesota |
Twin Cities |
|
Major Occupational Group |
Percent
Change
from
2Q 2007 |
Numeric
Change
from
2Q 2007 |
Percent
Change
from
2Q
2007 |
Numeric
Change
from
2Q
2007 |
Percent
Change
from
2Q 2007 |
Numeric
Change
from
2Q 2007 |
| Architecture and Engineering |
-20.4% |
-299 |
-17.2% |
-57 |
-21.3% |
-242 |
| Art, Design, Entertainment, and Media |
-54.3% |
-684 |
-44.9% |
-140 |
-57.4% |
-544 |
| Building Cleaning and Grounds Maintenance |
-12.7% |
-396 |
-20.0% |
-403 |
0.7% |
8 |
| Business and Financial Operations |
-9.4% |
-290 |
76.4% |
236 |
-18.9% |
-526 |
| Community and Social Services |
55.2% |
420 |
57.6% |
181 |
53.8% |
240 |
| Computer and Mathematical |
-57.7% |
-2,547 |
-65.3% |
-445 |
-56.3% |
-2,102 |
| Construction and Extraction |
-47.2% |
-806 |
-42.5% |
-460 |
-55.3% |
-347 |
| Education, Training, and Library |
-20.0% |
-521 |
-16.1% |
-173 |
-22.6% |
-347 |
| Farming, Fishing, and Forestry |
60.6% |
339 |
170.1% |
529 |
-77.0% |
-191 |
| Food Preparation and Serving Related |
-1.1% |
-64 |
-13.2% |
-465 |
17.6% |
402 |
| Healthcare Practitioners and Technical |
7.1% |
322 |
12.7% |
216 |
3.7% |
106 |
| Healthcare Support |
-5.8% |
-235 |
17.8% |
324 |
-25.4% |
-559 |
| Installation, Maintenance, and Repair |
6.4% |
69 |
-13.9% |
-97 |
43.5% |
166 |
| Legal |
-44.9% |
-115 |
-22.2 |
-2 |
-46.2% |
-114 |
| Life, Physical, and Social Sciences |
-9.8% |
-76 |
55.6% |
60 |
-20.4% |
-136 |
| Management |
-12.2% |
-310 |
28.5% |
114 |
-19.8% |
-424 |
| Office and Administration Support |
-31.2% |
-2,128 |
-24.5% |
-473 |
-33.9% |
-1,655 |
| Personal Care and Services |
-28.8% |
-590 |
-3.7% |
-18 |
-36.8% |
-572 |
| Production |
-31.1% |
-1,251 |
-35.1% |
-822 |
-25.6% |
-429 |
| Protective Services |
20.6% |
117 |
51.8% |
141 |
-8.1% |
-24 |
| Sales and Related |
-25.9% |
-1,898 |
-41,7% |
-1,444 |
-11.8% |
-454 |
| Transportation and Material Moving |
2.6% |
96 |
-37.9% |
-765 |
49.9% |
860 |
| Total |
-17.3% |
-10,847 |
-15.7% |
-3,963 |
-18.4% |
-6,884 |
Table 2.2
| Comparison of 2Q 2008 to 2Q 2007 by Industrial Division |
| |
Minnesota |
Greater Minnesota |
Twin Cities |
| Industrial Division |
Percent
Change
from
2Q 2007 |
Numeric
Change
from
2Q 2007 |
Percent
Change
from
2Q 2007 |
Numeric
Change
from
2Q 2007 |
Percent
Change
from
2Q 2007 |
Numeric
Change
from
2Q 2007 |
| Accommodation |
-5.0% |
-338 |
-17.0% |
-715 |
15.0% |
377 |
| Administrative and Support |
-36.8% |
-1,196 |
-42.7% |
-672 |
-31.1% |
-523 |
| Agriculture |
40.4% |
226 |
128.4% |
420 |
-84.0% |
-194 |
| Arts and Entertainment |
36.7% |
697 |
-31.6% |
-367 |
144.2% |
1,064 |
| Construction |
-51.0% |
-1,112 |
-59.5% |
-835 |
-35.6% |
-277 |
| Educational Services |
-25.7% |
-1,160 |
-11.1% |
-166 |
-32.8% |
-994 |
| Finance and Insurance |
-28.1% |
-1,018 |
-2.1% |
-13 |
-33.5% |
-1,005 |
| Healthcare |
3.4% |
372 |
9.8% |
465 |
-1.5% |
-94 |
| Information |
-42.6% |
-945 |
43.4% |
72 |
-49.6% |
-1,018 |
| Management |
-8.5% |
-144 |
-25.3% |
-37 |
-7.0% |
-108 |
| Manufacturing |
-33.2% |
-2,325 |
-31.3% |
-948 |
-34.6% |
-1,376 |
| Mining |
-43.9% |
-47 |
-48.6% |
-52 |
0.0% |
5 |
| Other Services |
-12.0% |
-264 |
44.9% |
154 |
-22.6% |
-419 |
| Prof., Scientific, and Technical Services |
-38.9% |
-1,234 |
33.4% |
97 |
-46.2% |
-1,331 |
| Public Administration |
24.2% |
281 |
17.9% |
118 |
32.1% |
162 |
| Real Estate |
1.8% |
8 |
-87.0% |
-94 |
29.8% |
102 |
| Retail Trade |
-6.9% |
-374 |
-5.5% |
-135 |
-8.0% |
-238 |
| Transportation and Warehousing |
-35.6% |
-1,005 |
-54.2% |
-717 |
-19.3% |
-289 |
| Utilities |
-35.8% |
-53 |
-18.9% |
-17 |
-61.4% |
-35 |
| Wholesale Trade |
-52.3% |
-1,213 |
-54.3% |
-519 |
-50.9% |
-695 |
| Total |
-17.3% |
-10,844 |
-15.7% |
-3,961 |
-18.4% |
-6,886 |
Which Occupations Are in Demand?
Jobseekers and employers want to know who's hiring and for what fields of work. Job vacancy counts alone are not a complete picture of labor market demand since larger occupations tend to have higher numbers of vacancies and do not necessarily indicate how diffcult it is to fill the vacancies. This report provides three measures for the comparison of demand across occupational groups and industries: the number of job vacancies, the job vacancy rates, and the duration of job vacancies.
Job vacancy rate
One measure of workforce demand is the job vacancy rate, which is the number of job vacancies as a percent of all filled positions. Occupational groups with high job vacancy rates are in stronger demand than occupations with smaller job vacancy rates.
Duration of job vacancies
Another measure of labor market demand is the duration of a job vacancy. Employers were asked how long current job vacancies have been open for hire. Longer hiring cycles—job vacancies open for 60 days or more—generally indicate that a "market-clearing" problem exists, which may be related to specialized skill or knowledge requirements, too few people willing to work in the field at the current wage offering, a large number of vacancies coming open at one time, or an overall tight labor market. Shorter hiring cycles – with few job vacancies open more than 60 days – may indicate that there is no shortage of workers.
Employers may also classify positions as being "always open." Jobs in high-turnover fields may need to be refilled multiple times in a single year, resulting in the appearance of many job vacancies. Employers consider such job vacancies to be "always open" since they are always recruiting and hiring new staff for these positions.
Overall, a combination of the raw number of vacancies, the job vacancy rate, and the duration of the vacancies provides valuable information on what occupations were in demand during second quarter 2008.
Occupations in Demand
Occupations in Demand (OID) provides a ranked list of occupations currently in demand, along with links to occupational descriptions, wages and programs of study. Lists are available for Minnesota as well as the 13 substate Economic Development Regions. These lists use measures of demand from Job Vacancy Survey statistics as well as other sources of data including Unemployment Insurance claimants and Occupational Employment Statistics.
State and Substate JVS Detail
Future Hiring
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