Temp jobs, part-time needs drive MN job vacancies
Minnesota employers had nearly 100,000 job openings from April to June, the highest level in 14 years, state officials said Thursday. Most were for part-time, temporary or seasonal work.
Data show 1.2 unemployed people for each vacancy, one of the lowest ratios in state history and tighter than the 1.6 unemployed people per vacancy a year ago, according to survey numbers released by the Department of Employment and Economic Development.
Total openings in the second quarter were up 16 percent from the same time a year ago.
"The latest figures indicate a tight labor market in Minnesota, with companies looking to replace retiring baby boomers and other workers," DEED Commissioner Katie Clark Sieben said in a statement.
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The survey found 52 percent of the job vacancies (50,900) were in the Twin Cities, while 48 percent (47,100) were in Greater Minnesota, where vacancies were up 25 percent.
The agency also reported:
• Part-time jobs (fewer than 35 hours per week) accounted for 41 percent of the openings.
• 13 percent of the openings were for temporary or seasonal work.
• 35 percent required some level of education or training beyond high school.
• The median wage offer for all job vacancies was $12.99 an hour.