Job vacancies are

increasing in area

By KREMENA TODOROVA

Journal Staff Writer

NEW ULM -- Job vacancies in southwestern Minnesota, an economic and statistical region that includes Brown County and New Ulm, increased significantly in 2004, in line with state trends, according to a survey by the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development released Monday.

There were an estimated 5,485 vacancies in the region during the second quarter of 2004, up 5.2 percent from the same period a year ago, shows the survey, which is conducted twice a year, in July and December.

Statewide, there were an estimated 65,340 vacancies, up 28.2 percent from the second quarter of 2003.

The vacancy rate is defined as the number of job openings per 100 jobs. The vacancy rate in southwestern Minnesota in the second quarter was 3.3 percent, compared to a state average of 2.5 percent. That means that for every 100 jobs in the southwest, there were 3.3 jobs waiting to be filled. The southwest was tied with the northwest for the highest vacancy rate in the state.

The vacancy rate in the southwest shot up 90.2 percent from the end of last year -- making up for slower-than-average job growth in 2003 -- and possibly representing what economists speculate is a belated economic upswing. Statewide, vacancies for the comparable period increased by a more moderate 35.8 percent.

During the second quarter of 2004, job vacancy rates varied greatly by occupational group across regions.

For example, the southwest had a high vacancy rate in health care support. It shared this characteristic with central and eastern Minnesota.

The southwest, along with central and northwestern Minnesota, also had a higher-than-average vacancy rate in production occupations.

Over 60 percent of all vacancies in Greater Minnesota were in healthcare, retail trade, manufacturing or accommodation.

The wages for job vacancies also varied by region, with the highest median wage, $11, reported in the Twin Cities and the central and eastern parts of the state.

The southwest reported the lowest median wage for vacancies, $8.

In terms of numbers, more than half of all open open jobs in the state -- 57 percent -- were in the Twin Cities seven-county metro area. The Twin Cities and eastern Minnesota also had the greatest share of job vacancies requiring post-secondary education. Northwestern and central Minnesota had the lowest share of such vacancies.