Job vacancies in Minnesota rise to highest level since 2001

The Twin Cities area now has one job vacancy for every unemployed worker, new state data show, and Minnesota has only slightly fewer openings than unemployed people.

The number of vacancies in the state rose to 88,900 at the end of 2014, a 47 percent increase from a year earlier and the highest level since the summer of 2001, according to figures released Tuesday by the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development.

“The increase in job vacancies is another sign that labor markets continue to tighten in Minnesota,” said Rob Grunewald, an economist at the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis. “However, the report also shows that the median wage offer increased just over 2 percent from a year earlier, which is mild growth.”

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