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Kansas Job Vacancy Report for 2010

Job Vacancy Highlights 2nd Quarter 2010 Local Area II

Local Area II contains most of Northeast Kansas, including Shawnee, Riley, Geary and Douglas counties. During the second quarter of 2010, employers in this local area reported an estimated 4,839 job vacancies. This is approximately 688 more job vacancies than were reported in 2009. The average number of individuals unemployed in this area during this time was 18,109. This translates to an average of 3.7 unemployed persons per job vacancy.

Approximately 56 percent of the vacancies in Local Area II were full-time, permanent positions, while approximately 27 percent were reported as part-time, permanent positions.

Job Vacancies By Industry

The Education and Health Services industry reported the largest number of job vacancies, with 1,363 opening and a 2.0 percent job vacancy rate. The Trade, Transportation and Utilities industry reported the second largest number of vacancies with an estimated 1,295 openings and the highest job vacancy rate of 2.9 percent. This is similar to 2009, when the Trade, Transportation and Utilities, and Education and Health Services industries also reported the highest number of job vacancies with 910 and 841 respectively. The Leisure and Hospitality industry reported the third largest number of job vacancies in 2010 with 702.

Job Vacancies by Major Occupational Group

According to the Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) coding system, occupations can be classified into one of four levels: major group, minor group, broad occupation and detailed occupation. For purposes of this study, only major groups and detailed occupations were utilized. A major occupational group is the combination of similar detailed occupations into a larger, more general group. For example, Nursing Assistants, Home Health Aides and Orderlies are all detailed occupations that are categorized under the major occupational group of Healthcare Support.

The major occupational group of Sales and Related occupations reported the largest number of job vacancies with 773, followed by the Food Preparation and Serving-Related occupations and Office and Administrative Support occupations, with 594 and 585 job vacancies respectively. Healthcare Support and Personal Care and Service occupations had the highest job vacancy rates of 2.8 and 1.9 percent respectively. This is a change from 2009 when Farming, Fishing and Forestry, and Personal Care and Service had the highest job vacancy rates at 14.3 and 4.4 percent respectively.

Analysis of the detailed occupations showed that Retail Salespersons had the largest number of job vacancies in Local Area II with an estimated 374 openings. Other occupations with large numbers of vacancies included Waiters and Waitresses with 283, Nursing Assistants with 283, Light Truck or Delivery Services Drivers with 235, and Stock Clerks and Order Fillers with 195 openings. These five occupations accounted for more than 28 percent of the total estimated job vacancies in Local Area II.

Job Vacancies by Employer Size

The largest portion of job vacancies in Local Area II, 2,089 or 43.2 percent, were held by employers that had between 5 and 49 employees, followed by employers that had 250 or more employees with 27.0 percent of the vacancies. Employers with between 5 and 49 employees also reported the highest job vacancy rate of 2.6 percent. The smallest size class of employer, those with 1 to 4 employees, reported the smallest number of vacancies at 299. These results varied from 2009 when the smallest size class of employer reported the smallest number of vacancies, but also reported the highest job vacancy rate.

Education

The majority of the job vacancies in Local Area II, approximately 75 percent, required a high school diploma, a GED or no education, while approximately eight percent required a bachelor’s or advanced degree. Results of the 2009 Kansas Job Vacancy Survey also found that the majority of job vacancies, approximately 64 percent, required a high school diploma, a GED or no education.

Other vacancies in Local Area II that reported requiring a bachelor’s degree, Registered Nurses, Sales Representatives, Services, All Other, and Secondary School Teachers, Except Special and Career/Technical Education, reported the largest number of job vacancies with 39, 31, and 31 respectively.

Starting Wage Offer

The average minimum wage offer for job vacancies in Local Area II decreased from $12.50 per hour in 2009 to $10.78 per hour in 2010. The average maximum wage also decreased from $14.92 per hour in 2009 to $13.66 per hour in 2010. Local Area II reported the second lowest minimum and maximum wage offers of any local area.

The largest portion of job vacancies in Local Area II, 30.0 percent, offered minimum wages between $8.00 and $10.99 per hour, followed closely by those offering minimum wages of less than $8.00 per hour. Only 1.6 percent of the vacancies in Local Area II reported an average minimum wage offer of $23.00 or above, the lowest of all local areas.

As the level of education required increased, so did the average minimum and maximum wages offered. In Local Area II, average hourly minimum and maximum wage offers by education ranged from $8.90 for those occupations requiring no education, to $23.63 for those occupations requiring an advanced degree. Vacancies requiring a bachelor’s degree offered an average hourly minimum wage that was nearly twice as high as vacancies requiring a high school diploma or GED.

In Local Area II, Architecture occupations paid the highest minimum wages, followed by Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations. Food Preparation and Serving-Related occupations paid the lowest minimum wages, followed by Building and Grounds Cleaning and Maintenance, and Sales and Related occupations. The median wage offer represents the value in the middle when all wage offers are arranged from lowest to highest. Overall for the second quarter of 2010, the Local Area II median minimum wage offer was $9.00 per hour and the median maximum wage offer was $11.00 per hour.

Duration of Job Vacancies

The largest percentage of job vacancies in this local area, 54 percent, were reported as being open less than 30 days, followed by those reported as being always open at 17.9 percent. This was consistent with 2009 results when 50 percent were reported as being open for less than 30 days, followed by 22 percent as always open.

Salespersons, Psychiatric Technicians, Restaurant Cooks and Personal Care Aides reported the largest numbers of vacancies. Registered Nurses, Home Health Aides and Cashiers were also among the top ten. Occupations may be reported as always open for two primary reasons: they may have higher skill/education requirements resulting in a deficiency of workers who are qualified to meet the demand or they may be occupations that are characterized by high turnover levels.

Conclusion: Local Area II

Results of the 2010 Kansas Job Vacancy Survey reveal that Local Area II had the second lowest number of job vacancies of any local area. Of the total number of job vacancies in each local area, Local Area II had the highest percentage that had been open for less than 30 days, indicating that employers in Local Area II are able to find qualified applicants to fill vacant positions. Furthermore, when compared to all other local areas, Local Area II had the lowest percentage of vacancies that reported an average minimum wage offer of $23.00 or above and the lowest percentage of vacancies that required a bachelor’s or advanced degree. However, Local Area II also reported the second highest percentage of vacancies that require a high school diploma or GED.

A comparison of the Kansas Job Vacancy Survey results from 2009 and 2010 reveals several significant findings:

• From 2009 to 2010, the number of job vacancies increased by 16.6 percent.
• The job vacancy rate showed a modest increase from 1.7 percent in 2009 to 1.9 percent in 2010.
• Interestingly, both the average minimum and maximum starting wage offers decreased from 2009 to 2010.

There were also many consistencies that occurred from the previous year to the current year. For example, of all industries, the Education and Health Services, and Trade, Transportation and Utilities industries reported the largest number s of job openings during both years. Further evidence of the continued labor demand in this industry can be seen by identifying the demand for specific occupations. Registered Nurses were among the top ten most vacant occupations during both years.

The majority of job vacancies in 2009 and 2010 required a high school diploma, a GED or no education. During both years, the majority of job vacancies were reported as being open for less than 30 days, followed by those reported as being always open. Overall, the findings for Local Area II indicated a slight increase in labor demand from 2009 to 2010.