MINNEAPOLIS— Results from a recent survey from the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development show that job openings fell 24.7% over the past year.
A DEED press release states that the decline in vacancies is due to a return to normal staffing levels due to rapid employment growth due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and more people join the working population.
According to DEED, this is the fifth highest number of vacancies in Minnesota since 2002, but significantly lower than the number of vacancies reported in the past two years.
However, the labor market remains tight.
DEED reports that there are almost two job openings for every unemployed person in the state. Compared to 2022, the number of vacancies has decreased and the number of unemployed has increased slightly.
In 2023, there were 87,000 unemployed people statewide and there was 0.6 unemployed people per vacancy, slightly higher than the previous two years but just below pre-pandemic levels, according to a DEED news release.
Some other interesting data that emerged from the DEED survey was which sectors are most affected by vacancies.
The survey results showed that healthcare and social security had the most vacancies with more than 36,000 vacancies – down from a record 45,000 in 2022 – followed by retail with almost 24,000 vacancies (compared to 28,500 in 2022), accommodation and catering with 18,600 vacancies (compared to 26,000 in 2022) and industry with almost 11,800 vacancies (compared to 19,000 in 2022).
Combined, these four industries account for nearly two-thirds of the state’s total openings.
In addition, the study also reported that the five occupations with the most vacancies in 2023 are retail salespeople (7,599 vacancies), personal care assistants (5,669 vacancies), fast food workers (5,648 vacancies), registered nurses (4,382 vacancies), and food preparation and wait staff supervisors (4,156 vacancies). ).
DEED reported that 56.3% of all job openings were in the seven-county Twin Cities metro area.
Despite some of the investigation’s findings, DEED Commissioner Matt Varilek remains hopeful about the direction in which the state is moving economically.
“The Walz-Flanagan administration is making historic investments that will both increase equity in our economy and create work-ready workers to meet the needs of employers in high-demand industries,” Varilek said. “Brand new initiatives at DEED such as Drive for Five, Targeted Populations Workforce Programs and Clean Economy Equitable Workforce are targeted, powerful strategies to help more Minnesotans enter the workforce and meet the demands of our state’s employers.”
For more information about job openings in Minnesota, click here.
