Amount of Job Openings In Minnesota Has Reached An All-Time High

This is not new news. Industries across the state have faced a worker shortage. Restaurants have begged patrons for patience, manufacturers have warned buyers about long waiting periods, and some family-owned businesses have been forced to close their doors.

Get our free mobile app

Job vacancies have soared to an outlandish number of 205,000 in the second quarter of 2021, according to figures released by the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED). 

Compared to last year, vacancies are up 84% from the same quarter last year, and 40% from the previous record in 2019.

"DEED’s biannual Job Vacancy Survey found that the state had 0.6 unemployed people for every job vacancy in the second quarter of 2021, returning to the tight labor market conditions of the three years immediately prior to the pandemic. The current unprecedented conditions are due in part to workers dropping out of the labor force over the past year due to COVID concerns or other pandemic-related pressures. The current labor market situation is also unique because it is the first time on record that job vacancies have increased during a recessionary period."

During this period, the Twin Cities metro had over 119,500 vacancies, while Great Minnesota had 86,000. The Health Care and Social Assistance industry faced, and is currently facing, the most vacancies with nearly 40,000 openings. Overall, 12 of the 20 most common industries in the state set new vacancy records in the second quarter of 2021, which is not great news for the future of the state.

If you or someone you know is looking for a job, have no fear, you will not have to search long.