Job Vacancy Highlights 2nd Quarter 2007 Local Area V
Job Vacancy Rate	3.2%
Number of Vacancies	3,979
Average Wage Offer	$10.88 - $12.96
Median Wage Offer	$9.00 - $11.30
Offer $12.00 an Hour or More	29%
Require Bachelor's or Advanced Degree	12%
Positions Open Less Than 30 Days	45%
Positions Always Open	19%

Kansas employers in Local Area V had approximately 3,979 job vacancies during the second quarter of 2007. The average number of individuals unemployed in this area during this time was 7,163. This translates to an average of 1.80 unemployed people for every job vacancy, the highest of all Local Areas. This area also had the highest percentage of jobs open for less than 30 days. These facts may indicate that employers in this area have relatively less difficulty in filling positions in Local Area V.

As in the other Local Areas, a majority of these openings were full-time permanent positions. Furthermore, the results indicate a job vacancy rate of 3.2 percent or just over three vacancies for every 100 filled positions.

• Job Vacancies by Industry
  • 
    The Education and Health Services industry reported the largest number of vacancies with 845 openings. This industry also reported the highest average minimum wage offer of $15.06 an hour.
  
  
  
• Job Vacancies by Employer Size
  • 
    Employers with 50 to 249 employees reported the largest number of vacancies with 1,391 openings, followed closely by the 5 to 49 employees group with 1,373 openings. These two size classes combined accounted for a total of 70 percent of all openings in the area.
  
  
  
• Job Vacancies by Occupation
  • 
    The Food Preparation and Serving-Related occupational group reported the largest number of job vacancies with 519 openings, followed by the Production group reporting 515 openings.
    
    In terms of occupations, Hand Laborers and Freight, Stock and Material Movers was the occupation with the largest number of job vacancies with 267 openings.
    
    The top 25 occupations in this area with the most job vacancies represented approximately 60 percent of all job openings.
  
  
  
• Starting Wage Offer
  • 
    Nearly 29 percent of the job vacancies reported in Local Area V paid at least $12.00 per hour. Only four percent of all openings paid a starting wage of $21.00 or more, the lowest starting wage among all Local Areas.
    
    This area reported the highest percentage of vacancies paying a starting wage of less than $6.00 per hour. Nearly one third of all openings paid an average wage ranging from $6.00 - $8.99 according to the survey. Overall, employers offered wages for job vacancies that were higher than those offered in Local Areas I and II, but lower than wages offered in Local Areas III and IV.
    
    The median wage offer represents the value in the middle when all wage offers are arranged from highest to lowest. Overall, the Local Area III median minimum wage offer was $9.00 per hour and the median maximum wage offer was $11.30.
  
  
  
• Duration of Job Vacancies
  • 
    A majority of all job vacancies in this area had been open for less than 30 days or were jobs that were "always open." Of all the Local Areas, Local Area V had the largest percent of vacancies that were open for less than 30 days and the lowest percent that were "always open." As mentioned earlier, this may indicate that employers in this area do not have as much difficulty filling positions as seen in other Local Areas.
    
    Registered Nurses and Nursing Aides, Orderlies and Attendants were on the list of occupations that were open more than 60 days or were "always open" in this area, indicating a strong demand for these occupations.
  
  
  
• Education
  • 
    More than 68 percent of the job openings in the survey in Local Area V required no education or only a high school diploma or GED, compared to less than 65 percent statewide.
    
    Approximately 12 percent of the job openings in this area required a bachelor´s or advanced degree. The top 10 occupations with the most vacancies that required a bachelor´s degree were mostly teaching or health care-related. The occupation Registered Nurses had more vacancies than any other occupation on the list.
  
  
  
• Local Area V Tables
  • Job Vacancies by Occupation
    Table 1.5 - Vacancies by Occupational Group
    Table 2.5 - Top 25 Occupations with the Most Job Vacancies
    
    Job Vacancies by Industry Super Sector and Size
    Table 3.5 - Vacancies by Industry Super Sector
    Table 4.5 - Vacancies by Size of Establishment
    
    Starting Wage Offer
    Figure 1.5 - Vacancies by Minimum Hourly Wage Offer
    Figure 2.5 - Vacancies by Type of Position
    
    Employee Benefits
    Figure 3.5 - Vacancies by Type of Benefits Offered and Employment Size
    
    Duration of Job
    Figure 4.5 - Vacancies by Length of Vacancy
    Table 5.5 - Top 10 Occupations Open more than 60 days
    Table 6.5 - Top 10 Occupations Always Open
    
    Education and Experience
    Figure 5.5 - Vacancies by Education Requirement
    
    Local Area Comparison
    Figure 8 – Vacancies by Area
    Figure 9 – Vacancy Rate and Average Wage Offer by Area
    Figure 10 – Four-year Trend by Area