Southwest Minnesota is a national leader in agricultural production, and renewable energy.
The region's thriving manufacturing sector includes food processing, machinery, printing, metal products, and computers and electronic products.
Want the freshest data delivered by email? Subscribe to our regional newsletters.
4/24/2023 9:00:00 AM
Luke Greiner, Amanda O'Connell
With just over 14,000 job vacancies in the second quarter of 2022, employers in Southwest Minnesota saw the second highest number of vacancies on record, after setting the record for the fourth quarter the prior year. In contrast, there were an average of less than 4,900 unemployed workers in the region during 2022, meaning there were just 0.3 jobseekers available for every vacancy. Employers have gotten used to an environment where jobs have outnumbered jobseekers starting in 2017, with the exception being the outset of the pandemic in 2020 (see Figure 1).
One quarter of the job vacancies in the region were in Health Care & Social Assistance, and another one-fifth were in Manufacturing. Combined, those two industries accounted for almost half of all vacancies in the region in 2022. Health Care & Social Assistance had nearly 3,600 vacancies in 2022, which was down from the record high of almost 6,000 in fourth quarter 2021, but was still more than double the average across the past 10 years.
Surpassing 3,000 vacancies for the first time ever, demand for workers in Manufacturing is at an all-time high in the region. This includes a record high number of vacancies for Production occupations, where openings more than doubled over the past year and were up nearly 800 from the previous record high back in 2017. More specifically, the largest number of postings were for:
Most of these occupations can be started with a high school diploma or equivalent and some level of on-the-job training, though some may also benefit from vocational training. Overall, just 31% of the vacancies in Southwest Minnesota required college, meaning the other two-thirds can be started without a degree. Likewise, about one-third of current postings required at least one year of prior work experience, showing that employers have lowered requirements in an attempt to draw in more workers.
Wage offers have also been increasing, rising to $16.55 in 2022. That was up by more than a dollar from the second quarter of 2021, when the median wage offer just topped $15. Employers have raised wages across the board, but especially for lower-skilled, lower-paying positions that are hard to fill.
Contact Luke Greiner at luke.greiner@state.mn.us or Amanda O'Connell at amanda.oconnell@state.mn.us.
