The Kansas Job Vacancy Survey was designed to find what jobs are open and available for Kansas workers, where these jobs are located, what they pay and what kind of education they require.

The 2007 survey reported an estimated 52,230 job vacancies in Kansas during the second quarter of 2007. During the same period of time, Kansas averaged 64,173 unemployed workers, resulting in an average of 1.23 unemployed people for every job vacancy reported. This indicates a labor market with a high demand for workers.

The statewide job vacancy rate was 4.0 percent or four vacancies for every 100 filled positions. Local Area V had the lowest rate of 3.2 percent while Local Area I, at 4.9 percent, had the highest. Thirty percent of the total job vacancies in the state were located in Local Area III.

The Education and Health Services and Trade, Transportation and Utilities industries reported the most job vacancies statewide and accounted for more than 43 percent of all vacancies in the state.

The demand for workers was spread across most of the major occupational groups, however, Transportation and Material Moving consistently had one of the highest job vacancy rates in each of the Local Areas.

The 2007 job vacancy statistics reinforced the theory that earnings increase with the level of education. Job vacancies requiring a bachelor´s degree generally paid more than twice as much as those requiring only high school or a GED. Vacancies requiring an advanced degree paid nearly three times as much.

Within the top 10 occupations with the most vacancies that required a bachelor´s degree, Registered Nurses consistently had the largest number of vacancies in all of the Local Areas.

Local Area III reported the largest percent of job vacancies that required a bachelor´s or advanced degree, approximately 21 percent. Also, more than 36 percent of the job vacancies in Local Area III paid at least $12.00 per hour, the largest percentage of all Local Areas.

The length of time a job has been open can be a measure of labor market dynamics. In professional, high skilled or technical fields, where the average wage is competitive, a job that has been open for a longer period of time may indicate a shortage of qualified workers due to the specialized education or training required. On the other hand, jobs which were "always open" tended to have high turnover rates and on average, offered lower wages.

Registered Nurses and Nursing Aides, Orderlies and Attendants were consistently on the list of occupations that were open more than 60 days or were "always open," indicating a strong demand for these individuals.

The 2007 Job Vacancy Survey is a useful resource for policymakers, educational institutions, government agencies and anyone interested in Kansas workforce development.