Job Vacancy Survey Findings

During second quarter 2022, employers reported a total of 184,588 vacancies, down 10.3% from second quarter 2021 (see Figure 1). This is the third largest number of vacancies on record (going back to second quarter 2001) in Minnesota and shows continued strong demand for workers across the state.

Both the number of vacancies and the number of unemployed individuals has declined from record levels in 2021. With around 72,500 unemployed workers statewide in second quarter 2022, there were 0.4 unemployed persons for each vacancy, meaning that there were more than twice as many open positions as unemployed individuals in Minnesota. This is the same as six months previous, but down slightly from one year ago. The current rate suggests that the labor market remained tight in second quarter 2022.

These 184,588 vacancies translate into a job vacancy rate of 6.9%, or 6.9 job openings for every 100 filled jobs in the state. This rate is down from 8.2% one year ago (see Table 1).

-	Number of Job Vacancies	Number of Vacancies per 100 Jobs	Number of Unemployed Workers	Number of Unemployed per Vacancy
2^nd Quarter 2022	184,588	6.9%	72,526	0.4
4^th Quarter 2021	214,071	8.2%	92,924	0.4
2^nd Quarter 2021	205,714	8.0%	123,617	0.6
4^th Quarter 2020	127,314	4.5%	139,978	1.1
2^nd Quarter 2020	111,753	4.0%	299,579	2.7
4^th Quarter 2019	127,550	4.6%	92,692	0.7
2^nd Quarter 2019	146,513	5.3%	93,037	0.6
4^th Quarter 2018	136,917	4.9%	78,905	0.6
2^nd Quarter 2018	142,282	5.2%	88,517	0.6
4^th Quarter 2017	113,774	4.2%	87,578	0.8
2^nd Quarter 2017	122,929	4.5%	108,623	0.9
4^th Quarter 2016	97,374	3.6%	109,090	1.1
2^nd Quarter 2016	97,580	3.6%	112,725	1.2
4^th Quarter 2015	96,114	3.6%	96,263	1.0
2^nd Quarter 2015	97,997	3.7%	114,619	1.2
4^th Quarter 2014	88,927	3.4%	96,358	1.1
2^nd Quarter 2014	84,696	3.3%	165,184	2.0
4^th Quarter 2013	60,397	2.3%	129,253	2.1
2^nd Quarter 2013	72,569	2.8%	154,701	2.1
4^th Quarter 2012	58,864	2.3%	155,506	2.6
2^nd Quarter 2012	62,949	2.5%	162,050	2.6
4^th Quarter 2011	49,890	2.0%	161,292	3.2
2^nd Quarter 2011	54,670	2.2%	198,202	3.6
4^th Quarter 2010	33,804	1.4%	194,897	5.8
2^nd Quarter 2010	41,397	1.6%	200,037	4.8
4^th Quarter 2009	25,885	1.0%	212,282	8.2
2^nd Quarter 2009	31,358	1.2%	246,687	7.9
4^th Quarter 2008	31,066	1.2%	170,252	5.5
2^nd Quarter 2008	51,722	2.0%	147,511	2.9
4^th Quarter 2007	50,594	1.9%	125,999	2.5
2^nd Quarter 2007	62,569	2.4%	131,891	2.1
4^th Quarter 2006	55,736	2.1%	113,744	2.0
2^nd Quarter 2006	64,958	2.5%	109,667	1.7
4^th Quarter 2005	61,554	2.4%	110,911	1.8
2^nd Quarter 2005	59,513	2.3%	116,510	2.0
4^th Quarter 2004	51,137	2.0%	115,407	2.3
2^nd Quarter 2004	66,543	2.6%	130,301	2.0
4^th Quarter 2003	50,439	2.0%	130,390	2.6
2^nd Quarter 2003	53,246	2.1%	140,103	2.6
4^th Quarter 2002	56,166	2.2%	114,581	2.0
2^nd Quarter 2002	69,715	2.8%	132,274	1.9
4^th Quarter 2001	79,793	3.1%	115,216	1.4
2^nd Quarter 2001	115,072	4.5%	105,326	0.9

Regional Findings

Regionally, 98,330 or 53.3% of all job vacancies were located in the seven-county Twin Cities metro area, while the remaining 86,258 vacancies, or 46.7%, were located in Greater Minnesota during second quarter 2022. Compared to one year ago, the number of job vacancies decreased by 17.7% in the Twin Cities and remained nearly level in Greater Minnesota.

As in past years, the job vacancy rate was higher in Greater Minnesota (8.4%) than in the Twin Cities (6.0%), with both exhibiting extremely tight labor markets. And just like the state overall, both the Twin Cities and Greater Minnesota have a ratio of 0.4 unemployed persons to every one job vacancy.

Findings by Industry, Occupation & Size

Statewide, the Health Care & Social Assistance industry had the most job vacancies with more than 45,000 openings, followed by Retail Trade with almost 28,500 vacancies, Accommodation & Food Services had almost 26,000 postings, and Manufacturing with almost 19,000 vacancies. Combined, those four industries accounted for two-thirds of the total openings in the state (see Figure 2a).

The statewide job vacancy rate was 6.9%. Four industries had a higher job vacancy rate: Accommodation & Food Services had the highest vacancy rate at 13.3%, followed by Retail Trade at 10.2%, Agriculture, Forestry & Fishing at 9.9%, and Health Care & Social Assistance at 9.2%.

Eight industries saw an increase in job vacancies over the year including Health Care & Social Assistance, Manufacturing, Educational Services, Agriculture, Forestry & Fishing, Real Estate & Rental & Leasing, Wholesale Trade, Finance & Insurance and Mining. The remainder saw decreases with the largest in Accommodation & Food Services, Retail Trade, Transportation & Warehousing, Arts, Entertainment & Recreation, Construction and Other Services.

Occupations

By occupational group, Food Preparation & Serving had the most job vacancies with nearly 27,000 postings and a vacancy rate of 13.5%, followed by Sales & Related, with 23,000 vacancies and a vacancy rate of 9.4%, Healthcare Practitioners & Technical, nearly 19,000 openings and a vacancy rate of 9.9%, Healthcare Support, with 16,000 openings and vacancy rate of 9.9% and Transportation & Material Moving, with 13,400 openings and a vacancy rate of 6.4%.

Eight occupational groups saw an increase compared to second quarter 2021. Healthcare Practitioners & Technical, Production and Farming, Fishing & Forestry occupations saw the largest increases, while Food Preparation & Serving, Sales & Related and Construction & Extraction saw the largest decreases.

The detailed occupations with the most job vacancies during second quarter 2022 were Personal Care Aides with 7,798 vacancies, Retail Salespersons with 6,241 vacancies and a vacancy rate of 8.7%, First-line Supervisors of Food Prep & Serving Workers with 5,977 vacancies and a vacancy rate of 40.2%, First-Line Supervisors of Retail Sales Workers with 5,975 vacancies and a vacancy rate of 34.2%, Registered Nurses with 5,625 vacancies and a vacancy rate of 8.2%, Cashiers with 5,535 vacancies and a vacancy rate of 9.0%, Fast Food & Counter Workers with 4,756 vacancies and a vacancy rate of 8.4%, Nursing Assistants with 4,418 vacancies and a vacancy rate of 17.4%, Waiters & Waitresses with 3,615 vacancies and a vacancy rate of 11.1%, and Maids & Housekeeping Cleaners with 3,263 vacancies and a vacancy rate of 25.8%.

Firm Size

By size, small firms with 1 to 9 employees had the highest job vacancy rate at 10.6%, followed by medium-small firms with 10-49 employees, at 10.3%. The largest firms, those with 250 or more employees, had the lowest vacancy rate at 3.8%. These largest firms also had the highest median wage offer ($23.13 per hour).

Characteristics of Job Vacancies

Along with the number of vacancies, employers also report on the characteristics of their job vacancies. Some key characteristics of second quarter 2022 Minnesota job vacancies are as follows:

Thirty-seven percent are for part-time employment. Part-time is defined as fewer than 35 hours per week.
Ten percent are for temporary or seasonal work.
Thirty-two percent require some level of post-secondary education or training beyond a high school diploma. The other two-thirds of vacancies require no education beyond a high school diploma or equivalent.
Forty-seven percent require one or more years of work experience.
Thirty-eight percent require a certificate or license.

Trends in Wage Offers

The median (50th percentile) wage offer for all job vacancies is $18.32 per hour. This is easily the highest median wage offer in the history of the Job Vacancy Survey, reflecting both employers offering higher starting wages and a changing mix of available occupations. As Figure 3 illustrates, wage offers are highly correlated with experience and education requirements.

Which Occupations Are in Demand?

Jobseekers and employers want to know who is 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. 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 6 sub-state planning 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 & Wage Statistics.

What is the Minnesota Job Vacancy Survey?

Employers provide information on their job vacancies to enable us to estimate hiring demand and job vacancy characteristics by industry, occupation and firm size in Minnesota. The information is gathered through a survey of 6,225 firms stratified by 6 regions of the state, 20 industry sectors, and 4 size classes. The survey had a response rate of 80.1% in second quarter 2022.

These data provide job seekers and counselors with information on occupations showing hiring demand within their region. The information also helps employment, training and education providers understand current labor market conditions in their region and tailor services to better meet customer and employer needs. Finally, the data provides a leading labor market indicator.