Survey of Job Openings in the 7 Counties of Southeastern Wisconsin: Week of May 25, 2009

Abstract

The job openings survey of employers in southeastern Wisconsin (i.e., Milwaukee, Waukesha, Racine, Washington, Kenosha, Walworth, and Ozaukee counties) was prepared by the Employment and Training Institute for the Regional Workforce Alliance, with funding support from a U.S. Department of Labor Employment and Training WIRED grant. Over 3,800 employers provided data on their job openings during the week of May 25, 2009, through use of a mail survey, hundreds of follow-up phone interviews, and reviews of web postings (where such data included all current openings). For each opening employers provided information on the job title; whether the job was full-time or part-time; the education, training and experience requirements, the jobsite location, the wage or salary rate; and whether the job is difficult to fill. Survey responses were weighted by size and industry of establishments to estimate total job openings for the region. The combination of workers laid off from their jobs and fewer openings available has led to an unprecedented job gap in the Milwaukee area between people seeking work and jobs available. The problem is most severe in inner city Milwaukee where there are 25 job seekers for every 1 fulltime opening. In the region as a whole, the gap between job seekers (including the unemployed and “W-2” payment cases) and full-time openings is 13 to 1.