MANKATO, Minn. – New data show improvements in reducing job vacancy rates in Minnesota, but researchers say the numbers are still too high in most rural regions.
The Center for Rural Policy and Development is out with a fresh analysis of state survey data when it comes to filling the many job openings around Minnesota.
It says these rates have dropped from their pandemic peak, but leaving out the Twin Cities and southeast region, there’s still a job shortage above what’s considered healthy levels.
The Center’s Kelly Asche says smaller towns and cities have jobs to fill, but the talent isn’t lining up for them. The new data shows improvements in reducing job vacancy rates in Minnesota, but researchers say the numbers are still too high in most rural regions.
Asche says, “In the 1970s and ’80s, we were all worried about how to get more jobs to our rural areas, ’cause we had unemployed people. And now, we have so many jobs and we don’t have the people to fill those jobs. And so, it’s a very different world.”
The findings suggest that a job vacancy rate of around four percent is manageable, but four of Minnesota’s six geographic regions are at five percent or higher.
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