Job vacancies in Minnesota rise to highest level in 14 years

Job vacancies in Minnesota rose to 98,000 in the second quarter, up 15.7 percent from the same time last year and the highest number since 2001.

It means employers need skilled workers, said Katie Clark Sieben, commissioner of the Department of Employment and Economic Development:

The latest figures indicate a tight labor market in Minnesota, with companies looking to replace retiring baby boomers and other workers. As the labor market tightens, we will focus on developing the pipeline of highly educated and skilled workers to align with the needs of Minnesota’s growing companies.

Minnesota’s unemployment rate in July was 4 percent and these state job vacancies numbers came out ahead of this morning’s national report that showed the U.S. unemployment rate fell to 5.1 percent in August, the lowest in seven years.

Geographically, the state job survey of employers shows:

• 51.9 percent of the job vacancies (50,900) were in the Twin Cities
• 48.1 percent (47,100) were in Greater Minnesota

Other details from the state report:

• Part-time jobs, with fewer than 35 hours per week, accounted for 41 percent of the openings 
• Temporary or seasonal work accounted for 13 percent of the openings. 
• Thirty-five percent of the vacancies required some level of post-secondary education or training beyond high school.
• Forty-three percent of the openings required at least one year of experience. 
• The median wage offer for all job vacancies was $12.99 an hour. 
• Fifty-two percent of the vacancies offered health insurance. Health care benefits are much less common for part-time vacancies than for full-time vacancies.