MSP Metro Workforce Report April 26 – May 2, 2020

Each week, RealTime Talent will highlight the critical needs of employers in the 7-County Minneapolis-Saint Paul Metro (MSP) by lifting up the top jobs, skills, and certifications advertised by employers,[1] as well as the top locations that employers are advertising openings aligned with five of the region’s most critical sectors.  Each sector is comprised of a family of like-occupations that from a function and career pathway standpoint are related to one-another.[2] These reports will focus on jobs that require an Associate’s degree or less, and include an in-depth analysis on one occupation each week that is high-demand, high-opportunity, and high-growth.

1 SOURCE: All data in this section is from new jobs posted online in the 7-county Minneapolis-Saint Paul Metro between April 26^th and May 2^nd 2020. Data includes staffing agencies and represents dedulplicated new job posts from all corporate websites and job boards. Trend comparison to a prior period refers to the week immediately prior. All data was gathered from TalentNeuron Recruit, www.wantedanalytics.com on May 8, 2020.

2 All sectors are defined as job families that are related by skills, competencies, and career pathways, with the exception of Government jobs. The Government sector is identified by city, county, regional, and state government employers.

Occupations in Focus

Over the next five weeks, RealTime Talent will dig in-depth on the workforce challenges surrounding critical occupations in-demand in the MSP metro region. Some occupations, like Direct Care Professionals and Certified Nursing Assistants, have long been in demand but have exacerbated need among key sub-sectors due to the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic (in this case, Older Adult Services).  In other cases, dramatic increases in short-term demand for frontline workers, delivery, and essential services may be analyzed for long-term stability and career opportunity. Although future weeks will focus on one occupation each, this week’s first report is a broad look at the MSP Metro’s possible economic vulnerability using Chmura Economics’ Vulnerability Index model.

The Economic Vulnerability Index is a tool created by Chmura Economics to estimate the possible negative impact that the COVID-19 pandemic could have on employment based upon a region’s industry mix. RealTime Talent offered a statewide highlight of this index in an INSIGHTS post on March 27^th, 2020.  Since then, the index has been updated to reflect observed trends and adjust industry impacts. In the 7-County MSP Metro, Scott, Carver, and Ramsey Counties all saw their estimated economic vulnerability decrease; however, all counties except for Scott County saw their national rank against other counties worsen.

This index is based solely on industry employment impact—not other factors including government responses to the pandemic, consequential economic shocks, or rate of viral infection in a region. The Average vulnerability score is 100, representing average job losses expected nationwide. A score higher than 100 indicates that job losses may be greater than the national average.  In the MSP Metro, Scott County may have as much as 20% higher job losses, while Ramsey County may have about 18-19% lower job losses than the national average.

At the 15-county Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) level, the MSP metro ranks above average among 384 metro areas. The economic vulnerability of the greater MSP metro area is anticipated to be similar to Eau Claire, WI and Sioux Falls, SD based on the industry mix of these metro areas. In comparison to 11 peer regions identified by GreaterMSP as similar based on demographic and economic characteristics, location, talent and business competition, and positive economic trajectory, the MSP metro economic mix is considered less vulnerable to the negative impacts of COVID-19 than all but the Boston MSA.