This blog highlights information provided by RealTime Talent to Ramsey County for their Untapped Talent Series. Please be sure to register for this event later this year as schedules have changed. This blog post highlights talent and workforce data for Hmong talent in Ramsey County and is the fourth and final in a series of four posts.

Talent and Workforce

In Ramsey County, Asian Talent accounts for 13.1% of the county’s workforce compared to 7.5% in the  7-County MSP Metro.

The graph below shows the wage gap between average monthly earnings of Asian talent and all talent overall in Ramsey County.

The Wage Gap for Asian Talent in Ramsey County [1]

Average Monthly Earnings (Stable Jobs) by Race, Wage Gap from Group Average [2]

The table above illustrates the average monthly earnings for stable jobs by Race and shows the wage gap for Asian talent. Management of Companies/Enterprises is the one industry where Asian talent are making higher monthly wages, $1,019 higher than the average across all groups by Race. The industry with the smallest wage gap is Information at $153 followed by Educational Services at $332. The industry with the highest wage gap for Asian talent is Finance and Insurance at $2,399.

The following is the share of Asian Talent by Occupation Group:

  • Healthcare: 15.0%
  • Information Technology: 27.3%
  • Finance: 12.2%
  • Manufacturing: 17.5%
  • Construction: 7.3%
  • Agriculture: 11.7%

The graph below was built with the Center for Economic Inclusion Diversity Indicator Tool and shows the percentage of Minnesotans who reported experiencing employment discrimination in 2021.[3]

Percent of Minnesotans who report having experienced employment discrimination, State of Minnesota, 2021

Black, Indigenous, Hispanic, and Asian workers in the MSP Metro continue to navigate exclusionary labor markets, due to the biases and exclusionary practices of employers. This discrimination prevents qualified jobseekers from contributing their ideas to benefit the region and therefore is harmful to our regional economy. In 2021, most of Minnesota’s Hmong, Black, Indigenous, and Hispanic communities indicated they believe their group experiences discrimination when applying for jobs.

Workforce Opportunities[4]

As we consider where there is the greatest potential for workforce initiatives to build new talent inroads into Education careers, we will again utilize the Origin-Gateway-Target model. Please see this previous blog post to read more about this model.  The Gateway Occupations which rely on Certificates and Associate degrees for training talent are a first step.  However, the much higher-wage, higher-demand, and more stable Target Occupations may also present themselves as powerful opportunities for new entrants into Education careers. Asian talent represents 10.2% of Education and Training talent in Ramsey County, while across all roles 13.1% are Asian.

The following Origin and Gateway Occupations, listed in order of employment volume, have the potential for rapid entry into aligned origin occupations:

  • Preschool Teachers – LQ, HD, HS, OG – 6.2% Asian
  • Childcare Worker – HD – 12.4% Asian
  • Teaching Assistants (except postsecondary) – LQ, HD, HS – 15.8% Asian
  • Self-Enrichment Teachers – HD, OG – 20.0% Asian

The following Target Occupations, also listed in order of employment volume, have the highest forecast talent shortage and currently have a lower share of Asian talent:

  • Secondary School Teachers – HD, HS, HW, OG – 5.7% Asian
  • Elementary School Teachers – HD, HS, HW, OG – 5.5% Asian
  • Middle School Teachers – HD, HS, HW, OG – 5.0% Asian
  • Special Education Teachers – LQ, HD, HS, HW, OG – 2.5% Asian
  • Career and Technical Education Teachers, Middle School – HD, HS, HW, OG – 3.4% Asian
  • Educational, Guidance, and Career Counselors and Advisors – LQ, HD, HS, HW, OG – 4.5% Asian
  • K-12 Administrators – HD, HS, HW, OG – 4.5% Asian
  • Instructional Coordinators – LQ, HD, HS, HW, OG – 5.6% Asian

KEY

LQ = Location Quotient over 1.2, indicating a 20% or greater concentration of this occupation in Ramsey County compared to other communities

HD = High Demand

HS = High Skill

HW = High Wage

OG = Occupation Gaps, or talent shortages forecast over the next three years

AG = Award Gaps, or low volumes of graduates in most recent calendar year compared to national benchmarks of graduate volumes typical for a community of our occupation and industry mix

Some examples of Target Occupations for strategic opportunities in education that already have a higher share of Asian talent are Postsecondary Health Specialties Teachers (17.9% Asian) and Substitute Teachers, Short-Term (18.3% Asian).

While there are demonstrated gaps in wages in all but one industry (Management of Companies and Enterprises), exclusionary practices of employers, and additional barriers for Asian and Hmong talent in Ramsey County and statewide, Ramsey County Workforce Solutions and its partners are dedicated to expanding equitable access to opportunities for Asian and Hmong talent. Efforts to expand access to technology, in-demand credentials, and in-demand skills open the door to opportunities for talent to fill workforce needs.

[1] Population Demographics from Bureau of Labor Statistics 2015-2019 5-Year ACS Estimates.

[2] Population Demographics from Chmura JobsEQ 2021Q4 analysis of Ramsey County BLS demographics by race and ethnicity. Unemployed Talent Demographics from Bureau of Labor Statistics 2015-2019 5-Year ACS Estimates. Quarterly Workforce Indicators, 2021Q2 data, accessed 6.16.2022 at https://qwiexplorer.ces.census.gov/static/explore.html#x=0&g=0

[3] American Public Media, visualized by Center for Economic Inclusion Accessed 6.22.2022 at https://indicators.centerforeconomicinclusion.org/

[4] JobsEQ analysis of data as of 2021Q4  modeled from Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2020Q3, by place of residence, accessed 6.16.2022 at https://jobseq.eqsuite.com/landing/all-tools