Despite economic fluctuations in the region across other industries, health care and social assistance providers in Southwest Minnesota have continually added jobs over the past two decades. Health care and social assistance accounted for 13.6% of total jobs in the region in the third quarter of 2000, but after gaining 8,195 net new jobs from 2000 to 2019, the industry now comprises 18.1%of total employment. While the number of jobs across the total of all industries expanded just 1.2% from 2000 to 2019, the health care and social assistance industry jumped 35%. In fact, the region would have lost jobs over the past 19 years if it weren’t for the job gains experienced in health care and social assistance (see Figure 1).
The steady increase in health care and social assistance employment since 2000 has led to a growing number of job vacancies across the Southwest Minnesota region as well, with the exception of a brief decline in hiring activity during the Great Recession from 2006 to 2009. In fact, the 2,465 job vacancies reported by health care and social assistance employers in the second quarter of 2019 was the highest number ever posted in the region, and represented a 463% increase in job postings compared to the low point set in 2009 (see Figure 2).
These vacancies covered a lot of different opportunities, with the largest number posted for personal care and service occupations, which tend to offer low wages and part-time hours. The second largest number of health care and social assistance vacancies were for healthcare practitioners and technical occupations, such as registered nurses, physician assistants, physical therapists, speech-language pathologists, and family and general practitioners. These positions had the highest education requirements, with over 95% requiring postsecondary education or a certificate or license, but also the highest wage offers, at $24.02. The region also had high demand for lower-skilled and lower wage healthcare support occupations, such as nursing assistants and home health aides. Median wage offers hovered around $13 an hour for these jobs, and almost 60% were part-time, while less than 30% required postsecondary education or training (see Table 3).
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Table 3. Southwest Minnesota Health Care Occupations, Job Vacancy Survey, 2nd Quarter 2019 |
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SOC Occupational Title |
Number of Job Vacancies |
Median Wage Offer |
Percent Part-time |
Percent Requiring Postsecondary Education |
Percent Requiring 1+ Years Work Experience |
Percent Requiring Certificate or License |
|
Total, All Occupations |
12,355 |
$12.49 |
27% |
18% |
54% |
30% |
|
Healthcare Practitioners & Technical Occs. |
557 |
$24.02 |
35% |
95% |
51% |
95% |
|
Health Diagnosing & Treating Practitioners |
333 |
$30.80 |
27% |
100% |
69% |
99% |
|
Health Technologists & Technicians |
216 |
$17.58 |
48% |
89% |
20% |
92% |
|
Other Healthcare Practitioners |
8 |
$16.60 |
0% |
40% |
100% |
0% |
|
Healthcare Support Occupations |
309 |
$13.36 |
58% |
28% |
8% |
75% |
|
Nursing, Psych. & Home Health Aides |
282 |
$13.34 |
59% |
22% |
4% |
78% |
|
Other Healthcare Support Occupations |
23 |
$12.87 |
61% |
87% |
39% |
30% |
|
Personal Care & Service Occupations |
688 |
$11.74 |
75% |
12% |
12% |
59% |
|
Other Personal Care & Services Workers |
639 |
$11.81 |
76% |
7% |
13% |
59% |
|
Community & Social Service Occupations |
79 |
$19.48 |
18% |
71% |
77% |
79% |
|
Counselors, Social Workers, & Other |
75 |
$19.25 |
18% |
70% |
77% |
82% |
|
Source: DEED Job Vacancy Survey |
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For More Information
Contact Luke Greiner at 320-308-5378 or Mark Schultz at 507-205-6068.
