Share
Finding a family-supporting job in central Minnesota is made more difficult by the fact that nearly half of the openings are part-time, according to new data from the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development.
The 13 counties in the Central Minnesota Planning Region have 15,300 unemployed job seekers competing for 5,600 full-time openings, according to the updated Job Vacancy Survey from DEED. Job seekers outnumber full-time openings by 2.7-to-1.
Other findings for the region include:
- Nearly half of all openings are part-time.
- The median wage for part-time openings is $11.55 per hour.
- One out of five part-time openings offer health care.
The survey provides no evidence of an overall shift to higher-skill occupations. It finds that about 30 percent of all openings require post-secondary education or training and only 10 percent of all openings require a four-year degree.
One-third of all openings are in three large occupations — food preparation and serving, janitorial, and sales. The openings in these low-wage occupations have a combined median wage of $10.70 per hour.
That’s far below what is needed to meet the cost of living for many. For example, DEED’s Cost of Living report shows that in a Central Minnesota family of three with both parents working full-time, each worker must earn $13.90 per hour to meet basic needs. To see the updated Cost of Living research by county, use DEED’s Calculator at http://mn.gov/deed/data/data-tools/col/
The Central Minnesota Planning Region consists of the following 13 counties: Benton, Chisago, Isanti, Kanabec, Kandiyohi, McLeod, Meeker, Mille Lacs, Pine, Renville, Sherburne, Stearns and Wright.