The presence of such industry powerhouses as Polaris, Arctic Cat and New Flyer make Northwest Minnesota a hub of transportation equipment manufacturing.
From wheat and potatoes to soybeans and sugar beets, the region is a major producer and processor of food staples and specialty agricultural products.
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1/28/2021 9:00:00 AM
Erik White
As it serves an increasingly diverse population in the region, the workforce in the Health Care and Social Assistance industry has also become more racially diverse over time. Utilizing the Census Bureau’s Quarterly Workforce Indicators dataset, we can examine the change in the racial make-up of industries in Northwest Minnesota. Health Care is already relatively diverse, but due to the impacts of COVID-19, there is an opportunity to increase the diversity of the industry’s workforce even more by recruiting laid-off workers from highly impacted industries, like Leisure & Hospitality.
The number of non-White employees in the Health Care and Social Assistance industry increased to nearly 3,000 workers by the first quarter of 2020, compared to just 2,183 five years ago in 2015, a 35.2% increase over that time. The largest gain came from Black or African American workers, which tripled in the region over the past 10 years. At the same time, the number of American Indian or Alaska Native health care workers declined by 34.2% since 2010. The increase in diversity of the industry’s workforce was also bolstered by substantial gains for Asians and workers of Two or More Race groups (Table 1).
| Total, All Races | White Alone | Black or African American Alone | American Indian or Alaska Native Alone | Asian Alone | Two or More Race Groups | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Qtr. 1 2020 | 39,581 | 36,600 | 1,037 | 840 | 452 | 622 |
| Qtr. 1 2015 | 37,609 | 35,409 | 478 | 896 | 340 | 469 |
| Qtr. 1 2010 | 36,769 | 34,485 | 277 | 1,277 | 277 | 441 |
| Source: US Census Bureau's Quarterly Workforce Indicators (QWI) | ||||||
Comparing the diversity of the Health Care and Social Assistance workforce, which is the largest industry in the region, to the total of all industries, we find similar characteristics. Overall, 92.1% of the region’s workforce is white alone; nearly matching the workforce in the Health Care industry, where 92.5% of workers are white. But there are some notable differences compared to other industries that stand out.
Though Northwest Minnesota has the largest percentage of American Indians in the workforce, they are under-represented in the region’s Health Care and Social Assistance industry, holding just 2.1% of jobs. In comparison, American Indians hold 3.5% of all jobs, including 21.0% of jobs in Arts, Entertainment and Recreation, 15.2% of jobs in Public Administration, and 7.2% of jobs in Accommodation and Food Services.
In contrast, Black or African Americans are highly represented in Health Care and Social Assistance in the region. Black or African American workers make up 2.6% of the Health Care workforce, compared to just 1.6% of the total workforce in the region (Table 2).
| All Races | White Alone | Black or African American Alone | American Indian or Alaska Native Alone | Asian Alone | Two or More Race Groups | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total, All Industries | 221,599 | 92.1% | 1.6% | 3.5% | 1.1% | 1.6% |
| Health Care and Social Assistance | 39,581 | 92.5% | 2.6% | 2.1% | 1.1% | 1.6%< |
| Educational Services | 27,314 | 95.1% | 0.9% | 2.0% | 1.0% | 1.0% |
| Manufacturing | 27,054 | 93.2% | 2.5% | 1.2% | 1.5% | 1.4% |
| Retail Trade | 26,524 | 93.5% | 1.4% | 2.3% | 0.9% | 1.9% |
| Accommodation & Food Services | 20,794 | 85.4% | 2.2% | 7.2% | 1.7% | 3.4% |
| Public Administration | 16,019 | 81.4% | 0.7% | 15.3% | 0.4% | 2.3% |
| Wholesale Trade | 11,500 | 96.4% | 0.8% | 0.9% | 0.8% | 1.0% |
| Construction | 10,400 | 96.5% | 0.7% | 1.3% | 0.3% | 1.2% |
| Other Services | 7,245 | 95.5% | 0.9% | 1.0% | 1.2% | 1.4% |
| Finance & Insurance | 6,371 | 97.3% | 0.5% | 0.0% | 0.8% | 0.8% |
| Transportation & Warehousing | 5,175 | 95.6% | 1.4% | 1.2% | 0.8% | 1.0% |
| Professional, Scientific & Technical Services | 5,114 | 95.3% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 1.5% | 0.9% |
| Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing & Hunting | 4,592 | 93.3% | 2.4% | 1.4% | 1.5% | 1.4% |
| Administrative Support & Waste Mgmt. Svcs. | 3,660 | 93.7% | 2.5% | 1.4% | 1.2% | 1.2% |
| Arts, Entertainment, & Recreation | 3,197 | 75.0% | 0.9% | 21.0% | 1.0% | 2.0% |
| Information | 3,164 | 93.4% | 3.0% | 0.0% | 1.5% | 1.1% |
| Real Estate & Rental & Leasing | 1,639 | 90.2% | 0.8% | 0.0% | 0.4% | 0.0% |
| Utilities | 1,313 | 98.1% | 0.2% | 0.6% | 0.2% | 0.8% |
| Management of Companies & Enterprises | 793 | 95.0% | 1.3% | 1.1% | 1.3% | 1.4% |
| Mining, Quarrying, & Oil & Gas Extraction | 149 | 98.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% |
| Source: US Census Bureau's Quarterly Workforce Indicators (QWI) | ||||||
Despite reflecting the overall diversity of the region’s workforce, the Health Care and Social Assistance industry has the fifth highest percentage of workers of other races. It ranks behind Arts, Entertainment, and Recreation (75.0% of the workforce is white alone), Public Administration (81.4%), Accommodation and Food Services (85.4%), and Real Estate, Rental and Leasing (90.2%).
While these industries are more diverse than the Health Care and Social Assistance industry, therein lies an opportunity as they have been hard hit during the COVID-19 pandemic. Laid-off workers may be looking to change careers as a result. In fact, CareerForce has produced a resource to help that transition from Hospitality careers to those in Health Care by focusing on transferrable skills between the two industries. Health Care employers may consider recruiting workers from industries highly impacted by layoffs, especially considering those industries may be more diverse and would help to increase the racial diversity of the industry; and jobseekers may look to Health Care for a more stable or rewarding job opportunity.
The workforce in Northwest Minnesota is increasingly becoming more diverse and the Health Care and Social Assistance industry has helped to pave the way and will continue to play a significant role in what the future workforce looks like.
Contact Erik White.
