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An 'arrogant' job market
by Jeff Horwich, Minnesota Public Radio
July 16, 2003

Cindy Bruski of St. Paul has been looking for work at the Midway Workforce Center since being laid off in early March. Bruski intends to find another job as a customer service manager, but says openings are rare and she has lots of competition. (MPR Photo/Jeff Horwich)

The job market in Minnesota is worse right now than it has been at any time since the nation's economic downturn began two years ago. That's the conclusion of the latest Minnesota Job Vacancy Survey. The study finds job openings in the last three months fell 22 percent from last year. Officials and workers say they're hard-pressed to find much good news in Minnesota job market.

St. Paul, Minn. — After another day at the Midway Workforce Center in St. Paul, Ron Corradin doesn't need a survey to tell him the job market stinks. Corradin is a technical writer with an engineering degree and 30 years of experience. He has passed one year looking for work. Not only are companies reluctant to hire, but the few jobs that do pop up meet with a flood of applicants.

"It may be dozens, it may be hundreds. I have had one or two interviews, one of which resulted in a job offer, but that was withdrawn the next day," says Corradin.

Corradin's word for the current job market is "arrogant." He says employers expect "God-like" skills at entry-level working conditions.

Though Corradin's analysis reflects the emotion of his own situation, the new job vacancy survey shows he may not be too far off the mark. Conditions have worsened significantly from one year ago, and they are now vastly different than what workers came to expect during the 1990s.

Unless you have the exact skills the job is calling for, forget about it. You won't even get near it. - Charles Lawson, job-seeker

"It's the toughest time since the recession began to be out there looking for work," says Steve Hine, acting research director for the state Department of Employment and Economic Development.

"We estimate that there are four job vacancies now for every 10 unemployed people. Two years ago at the beginning of the recession, before the employment declines of the past two years, we had a one-to-one-ratio. There were 10 vacancies for every 10 unemployed workers," says Hine.

The survey shows the job market is somewhat tougher in the Twin Cities than in greater Minnesota. The impact of the job shortage falls across the income spectrum. Demand fell for workers in food service, retail sales, and office support. But job openings also declined in management positions and health care.

There were a few sectors where vacancies increased. Architects and engineers were hiring. Installation and repair workers of various sorts were also in demand.

But even when job vacancies do appear in the economy, years of layoffs have left behind a seemingly endless pool of job-seekers. Chris Stoehr works with companies who come to the Midway Workforce Center, seeking workers.

"I posted a job for one lady down on University Avenue, and she had more than 100 resumes in 24 hours. For an office assistant," says Stoehr. "She asked me to shut down the order because she didn't know what to do with them."

Stoehr says in this hyper-competitive climate, it's hard to keep people motivated. Disaffected job seekers may give up and leave the labor force altogether.

"We're seeing a lot of talented people out there, and it's hard to keep them upbeat," she says.

The computers outside Stoehr's office are filled with skilled workers. A former non-profit human resources manager surfs the Web for jobs. Nearby is Charlie Sprunck, a former truck fleet operations manager. Sprunck has come here every day since being down-sized in April.

"There's a lot of entry-level stuff. I've got 30 years experience, and I'm looking at jobs where I'm going to have to go back out into the truck, back onto the road," says Sprunck.

One workforce center mantra is retraining and flexibility. But workers here say they're better off pushing hard, day after day, for the jobs they really know how to do -- even if the openings are few and far between. Charles Lawson, an out-of-work graphic image salesman, initially thought about exploring some other types of work.

"But then I immediately began to understand how tight the market is right now. And unless you have the exact skills the job is calling for, forget about it. You won't even get near it," says Lawson.

Workforce center managers say there are still a few bright spots for people willing to drive a truck or go back to school for jobs in health care or real estate. But for many job seekers, the "jobless economy recovery" feels like it might stay that way for many months to come.

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