CareerForce Staff and Partners work with thousands of job seekers across Minnesota every week and can offer a great sense of the current job search environment across the state.
Of the 269 CareerForce Staff and Partners across Minnesota who responded to a month-long survey that closed on February 7, 90% said job seekers they are working with generally need more time to find employment, compared to the time needed by job seekers they served a year ago.
Of those 90% of respondents who said it is currently taking more time for job seekers to find employment, roughly a quarter of respondents said job seekers on average needed two months more time than a year ago to find work, another quarter said three months more time and another quarter said four months or more time.
Below are some comments respondents shared regarding the length of time it currently takes job seekers to find employment compared to this time last year:
- “Job seekers who are experiencing longer gaps of employment are higher educated and in search of employment in a remote capacity. Blue collar workers are able to find work within a few months.”
- “It really depends. A lot of people aren’t taking advantage of trainings to obtain certification to get employment. Yet we are in a crisis dealing with a population that doesn’t have a GED or diploma, which for some jobs is a minimum qualification.”
- “A lot of the market right now is flooded with job postings that employers have placed "just in case". Clients will see job openings on websites (other than MinnesotaWorks.net) and employers will actually not be hiring at the time. This unfortunately is a large waste of time for many job seekers.”
- “It's getting harder to find jobs - employers aren't hiring as often and aren't as desperate/struggling to find workers. Also harder to find jobs that pay enough to get by with higher housing and food costs. And underrepresented populations and those with barriers to employment continue to struggle to get hired.”
- “Most of the job seekers I see at our CareerForce location who are struggling to find employment are those in the 50+ age category who have been laid off and are trying to find work in the same field, but due to their age, they struggle with online application technology, resume writing, marketing themselves in an interview, etc. It's often hard for them to find jobs that pay what they were making in their previous positions.”
IT positions like help desk staff, database administrators and computer systems analysts, office support professionals like administrative assistants, clerks and office managers as well as teacher positions, including special education teachers, are among the top positions CareerForce Staff and Partners say currently take three months or more for most job seekers they serve to land (view graphic below). Hiring for some of these positions, including construction and teacher positions, may be affected by the season.
Health care support positions like personal care aides (PCAs) or nursing assistants (CNAs), food service and restaurant workers as well as retail workers are among the positions that currently take less than a month for job seekers to get hired for according to survey respondents (view graphic below).
Many respondents shared additional thoughts about the current job seeker experience. Some common themes included concerns that some employers are posting for positions they aren’t really hiring for or that more employers seem to be ghosting applicants. Other themes were challenges facing people with barriers to employment including a criminal record, lack of proficiency in English, lack of child care or transportation, as well as challenges facing workers who are older.
- Want help understanding the labor market for your part of Minnesota? Contact an expert in the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development’s Labor Market Information Office
- Looking for work in Minnesota now? Contact a job search expert at a CareerForce near you for assistance preparing for and finding work.
