|
Kansas employers had an estimated 46,584 job vacancies during the second quarter of 2008. The average number of individuals unemployed in Kansas during this time was 61,981. This translates to an average of 1.33 unemployed people for every job vacancy, indicating a labor market with high demand for workers.
Sixty-six percent of these openings were full-time, permanent positions. Furthermore, the results indicate a job vacancy rate of 3.5 percent or 3.5 vacancies for every 100 filled positions.
- Job Vacancies by Industry
The industry with the most job vacancies statewide was Education and Health Services with 12,154. Trade, Transportation and Utilities had the second highest number of job vacancies with 8,094, followed by Leisure and Hospitality with 5,962. These three super sectors accounted for 56 percent of the total job vacancies in the state.
The Leisure and Hospitality super sector reported the highest job vacancy rate of 4.9 percent, indicating that there are nearly five openings for every 100 filled positions.
- Job Vacancies by Occupation
Demand for workers was spread across almost all of the major occupational groups. The Food Preparation and Serving-Related occupational group had the largest number of estimated job vacancies with 5,792, followed by Office and Administrative Support with 5,455 and Sales and Related occupations with 5,114.
The Healthcare Support occupational group had the highest estimated job vacancy rate statewide of 7.7 percent. The Healthcare Support and Healthcare Practitioners and Technical occupational groups consistently had high job vacancy rates in nearly all of the Local Areas, indicating a demand for occupations in the health care field across the state.
In terms of occupations, there is a demand for both skilled and unskilled workers in Kansas. Retail Salespersons had the most job vacancies with 2,851, followed by Waiters and Waitresses with 2,188. The need for skilled workers included Nursing Aides, Orderlies and Attendants with 2,165 vacancies; Registered Nurses with 2,102 and Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers with 1,472. These top five occupations accounted for 23 percent of the total vacancies in the state.
- Job Vacancies by Employer Size
Employers are separated into four class sizes according to their number of employees. The class sizes are: employers with one to four employees, five to 49 employees, 50 to 249 employees and 250 or more employees.
Statewide, employers with five to 49 employees reported the largest number of job vacancies with 17,654 openings.
Employers with one to four employees reported the highest job vacancy rate of 4.4 percent while employers with 250 plus employees reported the lowest rate of 2.7 percent.
- Education
The 2008 job vacancy statistics indicates that wage offers increase with the level of education in Kansas. Job vacancies requiring a bachelor’s degree paid more than twice as much as those requiring only a high school diploma or a GED. Additionally, job vacancies requiring an advanced degree (master’s and above) paid nearly two and a half times the wage offers of those requiring a high school diploma or a GED.
Fifteen percent, approximately 6,749, of job vacancies in Kansas required a bachelor’s or advanced degree. Registered Nurses were consistently among the top ten occupations requiring a bachelor’s degree in every Local Area and Secondary School Teachers, Except Special and Vocational Education, were on the list in all areas except Local Area III, which includes Johnson, Leavenworth and Wyandotte Counties. Registered Nurses consistently had more job vacancies than any other occupation on the list. Note: A bachelor’s degree is not required to become a Registered Nurse, however many posted positions for Registered Nurses do require a bachelor’s degree.
- Starting Wage Offer
The average wage offered for job vacancies in the state was from $11.23 to $13.13 per hour.
Nearly 29 percent of the vacancies reported statewide paid at least $12.00 per hour while 46 percent offered a starting wage of $6.00 to $11.99 per hour, and nine percent offered wages less than $6.00.
There are many factors which determine the wage levels offered by employers. Some of these factors include the supply and demand of labor in a particular occupation, the level at which an employer is looking to hire, the occupation itself and the education and licensing requirements.
Computer and Mathematical, Legal, and Management occupations paid the highest wages. Food Preparation and Serving-Related, Personal Care and Service, and Building and Grounds Cleaning and Maintenance occupations paid the lowest.
The median wage offer represents the value in the middle when all wage offers are arranged from lowest to highest. Overall, the statewide median minimum wage offer was $9.00 per hour and the median maximum wage offer was $10.58 per hour.
- Duration of Job Vacancies
Another measure of labor market dynamics is the duration of a job vacancy. To gather information about the length of the recruiting process for certain occupations, survey respondents were asked how long current job vacancies had remained unfilled. The survey showed a majority of all job vacancies in the state and in most of the Local Areas were jobs that were "always open."
Additionally, in professional, high skilled or technical fields, where the average wage is competitive, longer job vacancy duration may indicate a shortage of qualified workers due to the specialized education or training required.
Several healthcare-related occupations were consistently on the list of occupations that were “always open.” Statewide, five of the top ten occupations on this list were healthcare-related. Other occupations that appear on this list in most of the Local Areas were Waiters and Waitresses, Retail Salespersons and Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers.
The average wage offer increased with the length of time of the vacancy except for vacancies which were always open, in which case the wages were lower. This may be due to the high turnover rates in some occupations which generally pay lower wages, and therefore, are reported as always open. Vacancies that were always open in Local Area II were an exception. These vacancies offered the highest wages in the area.
- Statewide Tables
|
