There are nearly twice as many job openings in the Twin Cities Metro Region as three years ago, according to the updated Job Vacancy Survey from the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development. There are now 34,600 metro job openings, which means that most of the openings that vanished during the Great Recession have been regained, JOBS NOW said.
Despite these gains, the Metro Region still has less than half as many job openings as in 2001. This is because the sharpest drop in openings over this period did not occur in the Great Recession; it happened earlier, during the 2001 recession and the two years that followed. Most of the openings that vanished in those years were never recovered.
From 2004 through 2007 — the best years of the decade for metro job seekers — the Twin Cities gained back only three percent of the openings lost earlier in the decade.
Thirty-nine percent of the metro region openings are part-time and only 18 percent of part-time openings offer health care. The median wage for all job openings is $12 an hour.
The latest figures show 28,000 job openings in Greater Minnesota, the largest number of job openings in the area since 2004.
Despite the rise in the number of job openings, the overall quality of the openings remains poor, JOBS NOW said. Of the 28,000 openings, only 15,000 are full-time. Job seekers still outnumber full-time openings 5-to-1.
Nearly one-third of all openings are in three large occupational groups—sales and related, food preparation and serving, and building and grounds cleaning and maintenance. These three groups of openings have a combined median wage of $7.57 per hour—only 32 cents higher than the current minimum wage.
If the minimum wage had kept pace with inflation since the 1960s, it would be $10.59 per hour.
According to JOBS NOW’s Cost of Living research, a single person with no dependents who works full-time in Greater Minnesota must earn $11.46 per hour to meet basic needs. In a family of four with both parents working full-time, each worker must earn $13.04 per hour. To see the Cost of Living research by county, use the online Family Wage & Budget Calculator on the JOBS NOW website.
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There are nearly twice as many job openings in the Twin Cities Metro Region as three years ago, according to the updated Job Vacancy Survey from the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development. There are now 34,600 metro job openings, which means that most of the openings that vanished during the Great Recession have been regained, JOBS NOW said.
Despite these gains, the Metro Region still has less than half as many job openings as in 2001. This is because the sharpest drop in openings over this period did not occur in the Great Recession; it happened earlier, during the 2001 recession and the two years that followed. Most of the openings that vanished in those years were never recovered.
From 2004 through 2007 — the best years of the decade for metro job seekers — the Twin Cities gained back only three percent of the openings lost earlier in the decade.
Thirty-nine percent of the metro region openings are part-time and only 18 percent of part-time openings offer health care. The median wage for all job openings is $12 an hour.
The latest figures show 28,000 job openings in Greater Minnesota, the largest number of job openings in the area since 2004.
Despite the rise in the number of job openings, the overall quality of the openings remains poor, JOBS NOW said. Of the 28,000 openings, only 15,000 are full-time. Job seekers still outnumber full-time openings 5-to-1.
Nearly one-third of all openings are in three large occupational groups—sales and related, food preparation and serving, and building and grounds cleaning and maintenance. These three groups of openings have a combined median wage of $7.57 per hour—only 32 cents higher than the current minimum wage.
If the minimum wage had kept pace with inflation since the 1960s, it would be $10.59 per hour.
According to JOBS NOW’s Cost of Living research, a single person with no dependents who works full-time in Greater Minnesota must earn $11.46 per hour to meet basic needs. In a family of four with both parents working full-time, each worker must earn $13.04 per hour. To see the Cost of Living research by county, use the online Family Wage & Budget Calculator on the JOBS NOW website.