REGIONAL- A new survey of workforce development professionals suggests jobseekers in northeastern Minnesota are facing a somewhat tougher employment market than they were a year ago, although the experience varies considerably depending on the type of work they are seeking.
The Job Search Experience Survey is a new qualitative tool developed by the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development’s Labor Market Information Office. Conducted twice a year, the survey asks workforce professionals across the state what they are seeing among the jobseekers they serve.
The survey is intended to complement DEED’s traditional labor market data by providing on-the-ground context that employment totals, unemployment rates, and other statistics may not capture. Because it reflects the observations of workforce professionals rather than measuring hiring directly, its findings should be viewed as an indicator of reported trends rather than a comprehensive measure of regional hiring conditions. Still, the responses can help identify emerging trends and barriers within the labor market.
DEED received 316 responses statewide for its July survey, including 31 from professionals located in or serving clients in northeastern Minnesota.
Among the regional respondents, 41 percent said their clients were finding employment somewhat harder than they had a year earlier, while another 41 percent said the level of difficulty was about the same. Ten percent said finding work had become somewhat easier. Just 3 percent said it was much easier, and the same percentage said it was much harder.
The results come amid rising unemployment and a regional labor force that began contracting over the past year, according to DEED northeast Minnesota regional analyst Carson Gorecki.
Prospects also differed widely by occupation. Forty-five percent of regional workforce professionals identified food service positions as considerably easier to obtain than a year earlier. Health care support positions were cited by 34 percent, while 24 percent pointed to construction, skilled trades, and extraction jobs. Nearly one-third said no occupations had become considerably easier to obtain.
At the other end of the spectrum, 41 percent identified education and library positions as considerably harder to obtain. Management and leadership positions were cited by 34 percent, while 31 percent pointed to information technology and math positions. The same share cited community and social service work.
Counselors also identified housing, child care, and transportation as barriers preventing some clients from taking available jobs. Others reported a mismatch between the wages jobseekers expect and those employers are offering. Some workers interested in changing careers also appear increasingly reluctant to leave their current positions, even when they are underemployed.
Artificial intelligence is playing a growing role in job searches as well. Counselors reported increased use of AI during the search and application process, while warning that jobseekers who lack digital skills or confidence applying online could fall even farther behind.