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Kansas employers had approximately 52,230 job vacancies during the second quarter of 2007. The average number of individuals unemployed in Kansas during this time was 64,173. This translates to an average of 1.23 unemployed people for every job vacancy, indicating a labor market with high demand for workers.
The majority of these openings were full-time permanent positions. Furthermore, the results indicate a job vacancy rate of 4.0 percent or four vacancies for every 100 filled positions.
- Job Vacancies by Industry
The two industries with the most job vacancies statewide were Education and Health Services and Trade, Transportation and Utilities. They accounted for more than 43 percent of the total job vacancies in the state.
Leisure and Hospitality reported the highest job vacancy rate of 5.8 percent, indicating 5.8 openings per one hundred filled positions.
- Job Vacancies by Employer Size
Employers are separated into four class sizes according to their number of employees. The class sizes are: employers with 1 to 4 employees, 5 to 49 employees, 50 to 249 employees and 250 or more employees.
Statewide, employers with 5 to 49 employees reported the largest number of job vacancies with approximately 18,637 openings.
Employers with 1 to 4 employees reported the highest job vacancy rate of 4.6 percent while employers with 250 plus employees reported the lowest rate of 2.9 percent.
- Job Vacancies by Occupation
Demand for workers was spread across almost all of the major occupational groups. Office and Administrative Support occupations had the largest number of job vacancies, approximately 5,825 openings, while Farming, Fishing and Forestry had the highest job vacancy rate statewide. Some of these vacancies may reflect seasonal demand for workers, as the survey is conducted April through June.
Transportation and Material Moving was an occupational group that consistently had one of the highest job vacancy rates in every Local Area indicating demand for these occupations across the state.
In terms of occupations, Hand Laborers and Freight, Stock and Material Movers was the occupation with the most job vacancies, approximately 2,086. This occupation was followed by Waiters and Waitresses with 1,888 vacancies, Registered Nurses with 1,670 vacancies, Nursing Aides, Orderlies and Attendants with 1,641vacancies and Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers with 1,551 vacancies. This indicates a demand for both skilled and unskilled workers in Kansas.
- Starting Wage Offer
The highest and the lowest paying occupational groups in the Job Vacancy Survey reiterated the findings from the 2007 Kansas Wage Survey.
Management occupations paid the highest wage while Food Preparation and Serving-Related occupations paid the least in both surveys.
Nearly 31 percent of the job vacancies reported statewide paid at least $12.00 per hour. Less than eight percent of all openings offered a starting wage of $21.00 or more while slightly more than six percent offered less than $6.00 per hour. More than 25 percent of all job vacancies in Kansas offered an average starting wage ranging from $6.00 - $8.99.
There are many factors which determine the wage levels offered by employers. Some of these factors are: 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 requirement.
The median wage offer represents the value in the middle when all wage offers are arranged from highest to lowest. Overall, the statewide median minimum wage offer was $9.75 per hour and the median maximum wage offer was $11.00 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 that a majority of all job vacancies in the state and in each of the Local Areas had been open for less than 30 days or were jobs that were "always open." The type of work or the environment could have been a factor in some occupations.
Additionally, in professional, high skilled or technical fields, where the average wage is competitive, a longer duration of job vacancy may have indicated a shortage of qualified workers due to the specialized education or training required.
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" in every Local Area.
The average wage offer increased with the length of time of the vacancy; however, for vacancies which were "always open," this was not the case. This may be due to the high turnover rates in some occupations which on average pay lower wages.
- Education
The 2007 job vacancy statistics reinforce the theory that earnings increase with the level of education in Kansas. Job vacancies which required a bachelor´s degree paid more than twice as much as those requiring only high school or a GED. Job vacancies requiring an advanced degree (Masters & above) received nearly three times the wage of those requiring high school or a GED.
Nearly 16 percent, approximately 8,140, job vacancies in Kansas 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, was consistently on the list in every Local Area and consistently had more job vacancies than any other occupation on the list.
- Statewide Tables
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