WORKFORCE INTELLIGENCE NETWORK
QUARTERLY REPORT JACKSON COUNTY 路 Q2 2015
CONTENTS Labor Market and Demand Overview Occupational Clusters Advanced Manufacturing: Skilled Trades & Technicians Advanced Manufacturing: Engineers & Designers Information Technology Health Care Retail & Hospitality Agriculture
Labor Market and Demand Summary Data Notes and Sources
GEOGRAPHY
Prosperity Region 9 includes 6 counties: Hillsdale, Jackson, Lenawee, Livingston, Monroe, and Washtenaw. This report focuses on Jackson County.
SECTION ONE LABOR MARKET AND DEMAND OVERVIEW
TOP 20 JOBS IN DEMAND APRIL - JUNE 2015
Heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers were Jackson County’s top in-demand job again during Q2 2015, with 289 online job ads. Q2’s demand for this occupation represents a 38% increase in demand for truck drivers from Q1 2015 (178 postings). Employer demand for these workers is more than 3 times greater than that for other in-demand occupations. The next in-demand jobs for Jackson County were registered nurses (86 postings), retail salespersons (66 postings), maintenance and repair workers (50 postings), and customer service representatives (48 postings).
EMPLOYMENT AND LABOR FORCE OVERVIEW
EMPLOYMENT AND LABOR FORCE OVERVIEW
EMPLOYMENT AND LABOR FORCE
Employment in Jackson County grew 1.2% between Q1 2015 and Q2, from 68,547 to 69,355. The county labor force remained fairly stagnant between quarters, growing only 0.6%, from 72,751 to 73,179. Because employment is growing while labor force participation has not increased significantly, the 9.0% decrease in unemployment between quarters can be attributed to people gaining jobs. Between quarters Jackson County’s unemployment rate dropped from 5.8% to 5.2%.
EMPLOYER DEMAND APRIL - JUNE 2015
Total job postings in Jackson County increased slightly between Q1 2015 and Q2 to 2,287. The small 2.2% increase in postings appears fairly stagnant compared to the 22.0% increase in postings between Q4 2014 and Q1 2015. This increase in overall postings occurs despite decreases in demand this quarter for 4 of the 6 occupation clusters analyzed by WIN for Jackson County.
SECTION TWO OCCUPATIONAL CLUSTERS
JACKSON COUNTY DEMAND OVERVIEW
ADVANCED MANUFACTURING SKILLED TRADES AND TECHNICIANS WIN’s technicians/skilled trades category includes jobs related to advanced manufacturing. Southeast Michigan has more demand for skilled- trades labor, such as CNC machinists and welders, than almost anywhere else in the country. In 2014, skilled trades employment reached 18,385 individuals in Region 9. NOTE: Skilled trades related to construction and repair are not included in this cluster, as the focus is on advanced manufacturing. Mechanical engineering technicians were the top in-demand job from Jackson County employers during Q2 2015 with 17 online job postings. Q1’s top occupation, inspectors, testers, sorters, samplers, and weighers, dropped to second place during Q2 with 15 postings. A high demand occupation for several quarters, computer-controlled machine tool operators, metal and plastic, fell in the top jobs list with only 5 postings during Q2 in Jackson County, and in many other geographies, as well.
ADVANCED MANUFACTURING SKILLED TRADES AND TECHNICIANS: TOP JOBS
ADVANCED MANUFACTURING SKILLED TRADES AND TECHNICIANS: ONLINE JOB POSTINGS OVER TIME
The Skilled Trades occupation cluster was one of only two WIN occupation clusters that saw increased employer demand during Q2 2015. Postings for these occupations in Jackson County are up from 92 postings in Q1 to 116. These postings account for 5.1% of all online job ads in Jackson County this quarter.
Many of the Skilled Trades workers demanded by Jackson County employers are already highly concentrated in the region. For example, during Q2 2015 mechanical engineering technicians were the most in-demand workers in the county. This occupation has a location quotient (LQ) of 2.02, meaning that employment of mechanical engineering technicians in Jackson County is twice what it is across the country. Computer-controlled machine tool operators have a location quotient (LQ) in Jackson County of 8.15, meaning that the concentration of employment in this occupation is 8.15 times greater here compared to the rest of the nation. However, employer demand for this type of worker has fallen this quarter across Southeast Michigan, which could mean that more employers are fulfilling their hiring needs, perhaps with churn from the high number of already employed computer-controlled machine tool operators. Skilled trade jobs also allow workers to earn a living wage with the median hourly rate above $15 for many in-demand jobs. Increased demand for a technician occupations in the Skilled Trades cluster provides another opportunity for Jackson County workers to earn higher wages, as mechanical engineering technicians can earn $24.67 per hour at the median. Starting wages (10th percentile) are not as competitive for every job, but all positions offer upward wage growth. Many Skilled Trades jobs do not require a post-secondary degree but often require on-the-job training. Technician positions require an associate’s degree in engineering. Many of Jackson County’s most in-demand Skilled Trades occupations do not have students graduating from related degree and certificate programs to satisfy employer demand.
ADVANCED MANUFACTURING SKILLED TRADES AND TECHNICIANS: TOP 10 JOBS LOCATION QUOTIENT AND WAGES
SKILLED TRADES AND TECHNICIANS: TOP 10 JOBS RECENT GRADUATES AND EDUCATION AND TRAINING REQUIREMENTS
ADVANCED MANUFACTURING ENGINEERS AND DESIGNERS Jobs in the manufacturing industry can range from assembly and production, to skilled trades and technicians, designers and engineers, and even computer-related occupations such as software development. This section focuses on engineers & designers, which represent 10,508 employed individuals in Region 9. Demand for engineers in the region has been consistent, and employment has been growing quickly. Electrical engineers (19 postings), mechanical engineers (15 postings), and manufacturing engineers (13 postings) regularly top the list of most in-demand occupations in the Engineering & Design cluster in Jackson County, and they did again in Q2 2015. Postings for industrial engineers (8 postings) and commercial and industrial designers (7 postings) round out the top five list.
ADVANCED MANUFACTURING ENGINEERS AND DESIGNERS: TOP JOBS
ADVANCED MANUFACTURING ENGINEERS AND DESIGNERS: ONLINE JOB POSTINGS OVER TIME
Postings in the Engineering & Design cluster in Jackson County are down from Q1 2015 when employer demand peaked at 150 online job ads. The 92 job postings for these occupations in Q2, however, are similar to 2014’s quarterly posting average of 95.8. Postings in the Engineering & Design cluster account for 4.0% of all online job ads in Jackson County.
Jackson County already boasts high employment levels in many of regional employers’ most indemand Engineering & Design occupations. Industrial engineers have a location quotient (LQ) of 4.03 where 1 equals the national average, which means that these workers are 4.03 times more concentrated in Jackson County than they are across the rest of the country. Employment gains need to be made in other top in-demand occupations like drafters (LQ = 0.61) and electronics engineers (LQ = 0.72). Engineering & Design jobs pay Jackson County workers well, with median wages for top indemand occupations ranging between $19.61 and $36.82 per hour. Typical entry-level (10th percentile) wages for these occupations also offer workers a living wage, with most wages above $15 per hour. These well-paying jobs require advanced educational attainment; engineering positions require a bachelor’s degree and drafter positions can often be obtained with an associate’s degree. Many of the top in-demand engineering occupations do not have enough program graduates from regional institutions to fulfill employer demand.
ADVANCED MANUFACTURING ENGINEERS AND DESIGNERS: TOP 10 JOBS LOCATION QUOTIENT AND WAGES
ENGINEERS AND DESIGNERS: TOP 10 JOBS RECENT GRADUATES AND EDUCATION AND TRAINING REQUIREMENTS
INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY Information technology jobs include occupations that are associated with entry level, technical, and professional careers related to the design, development, support and management of hardware, software, multimedia, and systems integration services. While the information technology cluster does not currently meet the employment levels of the other clusters, it is quickly growing. In 2014, IT occupational employment was 11,773 in Region 9. Top jobs in this cluster include computer support specialists, computer systems analysts, and software developers for applications. Computer systems analysts were the top IT occupation demanded by Jackson County employers with 42 postings during Q2 2015, up from 29 in Q1. Software developers, applications, typically take the top in-demand spot for the IT cluster in many regions, as they did in Jackson during Q1, but the county saw postings fall from 46 to 19 between quarters, consistent with the decline in IT cluster postings across occupations.
INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY TOP JOBS
INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY ONLINE JOB POSTINGS OVER TIME
IT postings in Jackson County fell 33% between Q1 and Q2 2015. Postings in this cluster peaked in Q1 at 259 postings. Q2’s 194 postings are still above 2014’s quarterly average of 143 postings. Based on the cycle for employer demand in the IT cluster in Jackson County, postings can be expected to further decline during Q3. IT postings make up 8.5% of total postings in Jackson County.
Employment in IT occupations in Jackson County is below the national average. Jackson County’s most in-demand IT occupation, computer systems analysts, have a location quotient (LQ) of 0.37 meaning that the concentration of this type of worker is only 37% of the national average. Employment in other occupations like computer user support specialists (LQ = 0.81) and network and computer systems administrators (LQ = 0.74) is closer to the national average. With continued demand and successful hiring by Jackson County employers, employment in these jobs will grow. Although Jackson County does not have high employment numbers for IT occupations, those that are employed in these jobs are paid well. Median hourly earnings for all of Jackson County’s in-demand IT jobs are above a living wage level of $15 per hour. Entry-level wages (10th percentile) are not as high for all occupations but offer upward wage growth opportunities. In order to get a high-paying IT job, Jackson County residents must attain at least a bachelor’s degree. Regional institutions report that many students are graduating from programs related to the top IT jobs in the county, so Jackson County employers have hiring options as the IT cluster continues to grow here.
INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY TOP 10 JOBS LOCATION QUOTIENT AND WAGES
TOP 10 JOBS RECENT GRADUATES AND EDUCATION AND TRAINING REQUIREMENTS
HEALTH CARE WIN’s health care occupation cluster includes jobs related to health care support and practitioners. This cluster is one of Region 9’s largest with, 48,914 employees in 2014. Employment in this cluster has been consistently growing, more health care workers needed to care for Michigan’s aging population and in response to regulatory and other changes. Registered nurses are routinely the most indemand job in this cluster. Registered nurses take the top spot, as they often do elsewhere, as the most in-demand Health Care occupation in Jackson County with 86 online job ads posted during Q2 2015. Physical therapists (44 postings), nursing assistants (21 postings), and licensed practical and licensed vocational nurses (20 postings) are also in high demand in Jackson.
HEALTH CARE TOP JOBS
HEALTH CARE ONLINE JOB POSTINGS OVER TIME
The Health Care occupation cluster was the second of only two clusters that saw postings increase between Q1 and Q2 2015. Postings for these jobs are up to 306 from the 268 posted during Q1 2015. This means that employer demand in Health Care in Jackson County has increased 48% from the end of 2014, as employers posted 159 online job ads during Q4 2014. Postings are also expected to increase for this cluster in Q3, consistent with previous trends. Postings in the Health Care cluster account for 13.4% of all online job ads in Jackson County.
Jackson County already employs high numbers of many of the in-demand Health Care occupations, compared to the national average. A location quotient (LQ) of 1 represents the national average, and occupations like registered nurses (LQ = 1.27) are more concentrated in Jackson County – RNs are employed here at a concentration 27% higher than the rest of the country. Top health care jobs, like registered nurses ($30.15 per hour) and physical therapists ($39.48 per hour), offer Jackson County workers good wages. Numerous top-posting occupations also offer solid wages at the entry level (10th percentile) with opportunity for upward wage growth. Health care occupations present regional workers with opportunities for work at various educational levels. Most health care cluster occupations require either a two-year degree or some post-secondary training or certificate, at minimum. Higher skilled occupations like physician assistants and physicians or surgeons require advanced degrees, such as a master’s degree or doctoral or professional degree; Regional institutions have high numbers of completers in programs that could prepare workers for many of these health care occupations-even those most in-demand, like registered nurses.
HEALTH CARE TOP 10 JOBS LOCATION QUOTIENT AND WAGES
TOP 10 JOBS RECENT GRADUATES AND EDUCATION AND TRAINING REQUIREMENTS
RETAIL AND HOSPITALITY The retail and hospitality cluster is the largest occupational cluster that WIN analyzes, both in terms of employment and online job postings. This cluster is of very high importance to the region because it is the first to grow when the economy expands and the first to contract in a downturn: It is often a leading indicator. As defined by WIN, the retail and hospitality cluster encompasses all customer service occupations, with skills transferrable across the retail sector, the hotel industry, food and beverage service industry, call centers, and other areas. In 2014, 110,843 individuals were employment in retail and hospitality related occupations in Region 9. The highest demand occupations for the Retail & Hospitality cluster in remain unchanged from Q1, but have shuffled. Retail salespersons (66 postings), customer service representatives (48 postings), and first-line supervisors of retail salesworkers (33 postings) top the list during Q2 2015. Postings for sales representatives, wholesale and manufacturing, doubled (14 to 31 postings) to move this occupation up the list.
RETAIL AND HOSPITALITY TOP JOBS
RETAIL AND HOSPITALITY ONLINE JOB POSTINGS OVER TIME
Postings in the Retail & Hospitality cluster saw a small (6%) decrease between Q1 and Q2 2015, contributing to the decrease in employer demand seen in the majority of WIN-analyzed clusters. This small drop is inconsistent with historical trends--analyzing data for Q3 will enable broader comment on the Jackson County economy. Despite the drop in postings, postings for the Retail & Hospitality occupations represent 18.3% of total online job ads in Jackson County, making it an important sector of the local economy.
Jackson County has high concentrations of Retail & Hospitality workers. The location quotient (LQ) of an occupation like first-line supervisors of retail sales workers show that the concentration of this type of worker is 21% higher than the national average. Purchasing agents have the highest LQ for Jackson County Retail occupations but employment in other in-demand occupations is not as strong. Occupations in this cluster compensate workers anywhere from $9.11 to $38.24 per hour at the median. Management level and wholesale & manufacturing sales positions offer some of the highest wages for their workers coupled with the most opportunity for wage growth with experience. The higher-paying retail positions, mentioned above, are those most likely to require more education, like a bachelor’s degree. Most other occupations in the Retail & Hospitality cluster require little previous experience and only some on-the-job training of their workers. Many degrees can prepare workers for high level retail jobs in sales and marketing, so analyzing regional related degree completions is not very applicable to this occupation cluster.
RETAIL AND HOSPITALITY TOP 10 JOBS LOCATION QUOTIENT AND WAGES
TOP 10 JOBS RECENT GRADUATES AND EDUCATION AND TRAINING REQUIREMENTS
AGRICULTURE WIN’s agriculture cluster brings together occupations that require knowledge of the farming, livestock, the environment, and natural sciences. Occupations range from farm workers, to environmental engineers, to meat butchers, and recreation workers. In 2014, 30,424 individuals were employed in the agriculture cluster in Region 9. During Q2 2015, employers in Jackson County posted 7 online job ads for landscaping and groundskeeping workers and 5 ads for sales representatives, wholesale and manufacturing. The nature of Agriculture jobs and the low employer demand presented indicate that employers are not using online job postings, as much as in other clusters, to recruit and hire.
AGRICULTURE TOP JOBS
AGRICULTURE ONLINE JOB POSTINGS OVER TIME
As mentioned previously, Agriculture occupations do not often garner a large number of online job postings. Employers in Jackson County posted 27 online ads for these occupations in Q2 2015, down from 39 in Q1. Agriculture occupations are the smallest cluster in Jackson County, accounting for just 1.2% of all online job ads in the region.
Many of Jackson County’s top in-demand Agriculture occupations do not have high levels of employment compared to the rest of the nation on average. For example, employment in the environmental engineer occupation (location quotient = 0.84) is only at 84% of the national average. Occupational health and safety specialists (LQ = 1.13) and farmworkers (LQ = 1.37) are the only occupations with employment concentrations higher than the national average. Agriculture cluster jobs are not high paying in Jackson County, with most occupations offering low median wages. Agriculture occupations in sales and engineering have the highest median wages and offer the most upward wage growth from the entry level (10th percentile wages). Many of the in-demand agriculture occupations do not require more than a high school diploma and are attainable with some on-the-job training. However, the high-paying jobs mentioned above in occupational health, environmental engineering, or scientific research, for example, require at least a bachelor’s degree. Continuing the example from above, median entry-level recreation workers are required to have a bachelor’s degree, but,again, are one of the lowest paid occupations in this sector. Many degrees can prepare completers for multiple jobs, therefore it is not advantageous to compare completions to demand in a cluster like Agriculture where programs do not map perfectly onto occupations and many occupations may not even require a degree.
AGRICULTURE TOP 10 JOBS LOCATION QUOTIENT AND WAGES
TOP 10 JOBS RECENT GRADUATES AND EDUCATION AND TRAINING REQUIREMENTS
SECTION THREE
LABOR MARKET AND DEMAND SUMMARY
Employment in Jackson County grew 1.2% between Q1 2015 and Q2, from 68,547 to 69,355. The county labor force remained fairly stagnant between quarters, growing only 0.6%, from 72,751 to 73,179. Because employment is growing while labor force participation has not increased significantly, the 9.0% decrease in unemployment can be attributed to people gaining jobs. Between quarters Jackson County’s unemployment rate dropped from 5.8% to 5.2%. Total job postings in Jackson County increased slightly between Q1 2015 and Q2 to 2,287. The small 2.2% increase in postings appears fairly stagnant compared to the 22.0% increase in postings between Q4 2014 and Q1 2015. While employer demand in Jackson County experienced a small increase between quarters, online job posting levels for every cluster except Health Care and Skilled Trades dropped during Q2. These two clusters together account for 18.5% of all online job postings in Jackson County from April to June.
SECTION FOUR DATA NOTES AND SOURCES
DATA NOTES AND SOURCES SPECIAL DATA NOTE • Due to changes in Burning Glass’s aggregation, parsing, and deduplication methods implemented in December 2014, data from previously released reports should not be compared to data in reports starting in Q4 2014 and moving forward. For the Q4 2014 report, the WIN team re-gathered and analyzed all of the data (postings from 2011 through 2014) to ensure that all numbers are up-to-date. If you would like information on the differences between the updated data and data from previous reports, please contact WIN's Research Director Colby Spencer Cesaro at colby.cesaro@win-semich.org. • Wage data that is not labeled as a national average is specific to each report's geography. For example, wage data reported in the WIN Region report is averaged across the 9-county WIN Region. Data in the Wayne County report is wage data solely for Wayne County. • All numbers included in this report are the correct and updated data. • Wage and educational attainment data available varies depending on the occupation. All wage and educational attainment data provided is for the 6digit SOC code. Some 6-digit codes do not have education or wage data available, in this case we leave the information blank. • Educational attainment data available refers to the share of the current workforce in each bracket, not what is shown in postings. Employers may require different educational attainment than what is in this report. • Quarterly reports: Due to a data update in Burning Glass Technologies’ Labor Insight tool, comparisons should not be made between data from each quarterly report and the annual review data should not be compared to data from previous quarterly reports. • Adjustments to the labor force information were also made to reflect and incorporate updated inputs, re-estimation, and controlling to new statewide totals. Much of the information related to monthly and quarterly employment is updated several months after the initial release. More information can be found here: http://www.bls.gov/lau/launews1. htm
DATA NOTES AND SOURCES UNDERSTANDING DEMAND VS EMPLOYMENT • Employment refers to actual employment numbers—the number of people in jobs—in targeted industries or occupations. • Demand refers to statistics derived from employer job postings, which indicate the potential for employment but may or may not materialize into actual jobs. • Job posting-related demand, as presented in this report, is measured by online job postings. Employer demand may be larger than what is highlighted in this report if employers find talent by other means.
DATA SOURCES • Labor market demand data for this report was compiled using Burning Glass Technologies’ Labor Insight Tool, and analyzed by the Workforce Intelligence Network. Other data sources include, the Bureau of Labor Statistics, and Economic Modeling Specialists Inc. (EMSI). Check out our website http://www.winsemich.org for more data and detailed information about our sources.
UNDERSTANDING CLUSTERS • Rather than focusing on talent demand within industries (types of firms), WIN generally emphasizes exploring talent demand based on occupations, including the skills, educational credentials, and experience needed to work in them. • WIN research examines industry data, as the health of companies can be useful for economic development purposes. However, shifting focus from industry to occupation is important as different types of occupations with extremely different skillsets may work within and across industries. For example, accountants, computer specialists, and engineers all may work in the manufacturing industry. • By clustering occupations, the talent system can identify employer demand for particular skillsets across multiple industry types and develop a response through training and pipeline development to meet that demand.
FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT RESEARCH AND DATA, VISIT OUR WEBSITE: WWW.WIN-SEMICH.ORG/DATA-RESEARCH