Q2 2015 st clair county final

WORKFORCE INTELLIGENCE NETWORK QUARTERLY REPORT 路 ST. CLAIR COUNTY 路 Q2 2015

CONTENTS Labor Market and Demand Overview Occupational Clusters Advanced Manufacturing: Skilled Trades & Technicians Advanced Manufacturing: Engineers & Designers Information Technology Health Care Retail & Hospitality

Labor Market and Demand Summary Data Notes and Sources

GEOGRAPHY

WIN region includes 9 counties: Genesee, Livingston, Monroe, Macomb, Oakland, Shiawassee, St. Clair, Washtenaw, and Wayne.

This report focuses on St. Clair County.

Genesee

St. Clair

Shiawassee Oakland Macomb Livingston Washtenaw

Wayne

Monroe

SECTION ONE LABOR MARKET AND DEMAND OVERVIEW

TOP 20 JOBS IN DEMAND APRIL - JUNE 2015

Heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers were St. Clair County’s top in-demand job, again, during Q2 2015 with 122 online job ads. This occupation took the top spot in Q1 after postings for retail salespersons declined; retails salespersons as the 6th most in-demand occupation in St. Clair this quarter with 51 online job ads. The second most in-demand occupation for St. Clair County also remained the same from Q1 to Q2, with local employers posting 87 ads for registered nurses.

EMPLOYMENT AND LABOR FORCE

Employment in St. Clair County grew 1.1% between Q1 2015 and Q2, from 66,406 to 67,137, with an available labor force of 71,953 during Q2. This labor force number represents a decrease in participation compared to Q1; St. Clair County’s labor force shrank 0.5% from 72,328 between quarters. Because of the decreased labor force participation, the unemployment rate for St. Clair County dropped from 8.2% in Q1 2015 to 6.7% in Q2.

EMPLOYER DEMAND APRIL - JUNE 2015

Total job postings are up 8.1% over Q1 2015 levels in St. Clair County. Local employers posted 1,647 online job ads from April through June. This increase in employer demand is consistent with the increase in demand seen for 4 of the 6 occupational clusters WIN analyzes in St. Clair County.

EMPLOYMENT AND LABOR FORCE OVERVIEW

EMPLOYMENT AND LABOR FORCE OVERVIEW

SECTION TWO OCCUPATIONAL CLUSTERS

ST. CLAIR COUNTY DEMAND OVERVIEW

ADVANCED MANUFACTURING SKILLED TRADES AND TECHNICIANS WIN’s technicians/skilled trades category includes jobs related to advanced manufacturing. Southeast Michigan has more demand for skilled- trades labor, such as CNC machinists and welders, than almost anywhere else in the country. In 2014, skilled trades employment reached 104,229 individuals in the WIN region. NOTE: Skilled trades related to construction and repair are not included in this cluster, as the focus is on advanced manufacturing.

Production workers, all other, return to the top spot as St. Clair County’s most in-demand Skilled Trades occupation during Q2 2015 with 34 online job ads. Q1’s top occupation, computercontrolled machine tool operators, metal & plastic, disappeared from the top jobs list this quarter in St. Clair, as in many other counties observed. The second most in-demand occupation in this cluster, first-line supervisors of production and operating workers, has less than half the number of postings (12 online job ads) as production workers.

ADVANCED MANUFACTURING SKILLED TRADES AND TECHNICIANS: TOP JOBS

ADVANCED MANUFACTURING SKILLED TRADES AND TECHNICIANS: ONLINE JOB POSTINGS OVER TIME

St. Clair County employer demand for Skilled Trades occupations is up 6.9% in Q2 from Q1 2015. The 101 online job ads posted this quarter account for 6.1% of all online job ads in St. Clair County.

St. Clair County has a competitive edge in the Skilled Trades occupations, with all top occupations employing workers at levels equal to or higher than the national average. For example, tool and die makers have a location quotient (LQ) of 7.86, meaning that the concentration of this type of worker in St. Clair is 6.86 times higher than the national average.

Many Skilled Trade jobs allow St. Clair County workers to earn a living wage, with the median hourly rate above $15 an hour for most in-demand jobs. Management roles in Skilled Trades, like first-line supervisors of production and operating workers, have high median wages, making $25.80 an hour. Starting wages (10th percentile) are not as competitive for every job, but all positions offer upward wage growth.

Most of the in-demand Skilled Trades jobs in St. Clair do not require a post-secondary degree but do require on-the-job training. First-line supervisors of production and operating workers may be expected to have a postsecondary non-degree award. Many of St. Clair County’s most indemand Skilled Trades occupations do not have students graduating from related degree and certificate programs to satisfy employer demand. Also note that many degrees can prepare a person for multiple jobs, therefore the completions data presented may not be informative for many Skilled Trades occupations.

ADVANCED MANUFACTURING SKILLED TRADES AND TECHNICIANS: TOP 10 JOBS LOCATION QUOTIENT AND WAGES

SKILLED TRADES AND TECHNICIANS: TOP 10 JOBS RECENT GRADUATES AND EDUCATION AND TRAINING REQUIREMENTS

ADVANCED MANUFACTURING ENGINEERS AND DESIGNERS Jobs in the manufacturing industry can range from assembly and production, to skilled trades and technicians, designers and engineers, and even computer-related occupations such as software development. This section focuses on engineers & designers, which represent 74,198 employed individuals in Southeast Michigan. Demand for engineers in the region has been consistent, and employment has been growing quickly.

Mechanical engineers remain the most in-demand Engineering & Design occupation for St. Clair County during Q2 2015, as they were in Q1, with 16 online job ads posted. Manufacturing engineers and industrial engineers round out the top three with 11 online job ads each during April, May, and June. Other top engineering jobs for St. Clair County shuffled order this quarter but remain the same, with electrical engineers and civil engineers also near the top of the list during Q2.

ADVANCED MANUFACTURING ENGINEERS AND DESIGNERS: TOP JOBS

ADVANCED MANUFACTURING ENGINEERS AND DESIGNERS: ONLINE JOB POSTINGS OVER TIME

Postings in the Engineering & Design cluster in St. Clair County remained fairly stagnant between Q1 2015 (63 online job ads) and Q2 (60 online job ads). This stagnation between quarters is after a dramatic increase in employer demand, increasing from 32 online job ads during Q4 2014. Postings in this cluster account for 3.6% of all online job ads in St. Clair County.

St. Clair County has a competitive advantage in many of the most in-demand Engineering & Design occupations, with employment concentrations here equal to or greater than the national average. Mechanical engineers, the top indemand job this quarter, have a location quotient (LQ) of 4.23, meaning that the concentration of this type of worker in St. Clair is 423% of the national concentration. Employment is not as strong for other top in-demand occupations like civil engineers (LQ = 0.38) and industrial health and safety engineers (LQ = 0.94).

Engineering & Design jobs pay St. Clair County workers well, with median wages for top in-demand occupations $23.55 per hour and up. Typical entry-level (10th percentile) wages for these occupations also offer workers a living wage, with all wages at or above $18.35 per hour and upward wage growth with experience.

These well-paying jobs require advanced educational attainment, like a bachelor’s degree, for entry-level. Entry-level drafter positions can often be obtained with a relevant associate’s degree. The top in-demand occupations in St. Clair County do not have enough students completing related degrees at regional institutions to satisfy employer demand for skilled workers.

ADVANCED MANUFACTURING ENGINEERS AND DESIGNERS: TOP 10 JOBS LOCATION QUOTIENT AND WAGES

ENGINEERS AND DESIGNERS: TOP 10 JOBS RECENT GRADUATES AND EDUCATION AND TRAINING REQUIREMENTS

INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY Information technology jobs include occupations that are associated with entry level, technical, and professional careers related to the design, development, support and management of hardware, software, multimedia, and systems integration services. While the information technology cluster does not currently meet the employment levels of the other clusters, it is quickly growing. In 2014, IT occupational employment was 74,309 in the WIN region. Top jobs in this cluster include computer support specialists, computer systems analysts, and software developers for applications.

Software developers, applications, topped the list of in-demand IT occupations for St. Clair County again in Q2 2015, as this occupation often does for other geographies. St. Clair County employers posted 7 online job ads for software developers, applications, down from 18 in Q1. Employers also posted 4 ads each for database administrators, computer user support specialists, and computer programmers.

INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY TOP JOBS

INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY ONLINE JOB POSTINGS OVER TIME

Postings in the IT occupations declined 27.8% in St. Clair County between Q1 2015 and Q2, from a peak at 46 to 36. Employer demand for this occupational cluster is still quite volatile in St. Clair County; quarterly posting levels oscillated between 26 and 36 for all of 2014. IT postings make up just 2.2% of total postings in St. Clair County.

Employment in IT occupations in St. Clair County is below the national average.

The most in-demand IT occupation in the county, software developers for applications, has a location quotient (LQ) of 0.26 meaning that this type of worker is concentrated in St. Clair County at 26% of the national average level of employment. A LQ of 1.00 would mean the concentration of the occupation in the county is equal to the national average; none of the top in-demand IT occupations have a LQ equal to or greater than 1.00.

For the few St. Clair County workers employed in IT cluster occupations these jobs offer high wages. Median wages for most of the county’s most in-demand IT occupations are above $30 an hour. Entry-level (10th percentile) wages are similarly high, and all top occupations offer opportunity for upward wage growth with experience.

St. Clair County residents must attain at least a bachelor’s degree for many of the in-demand IT jobs. Regional institutions report that many students are graduating from programs related to the top IT jobs in the county so the demand seen for these workers in St. Clair County could indicate that employers see a mismatch between the skills taught in regional programs and their hiring preferences, or that demand for occupations in this cluster is simply growing and will continue to in the future.

INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY TOP 10 JOBS LOCATION QUOTIENT AND WAGES

TOP 10 JOBS RECENT GRADUATES AND EDUCATION AND TRAINING REQUIREMENTS

HEALTH CARE WIN’s health care occupation cluster includes jobs related to health care support and practitioners. This cluster is one of Southeast Michigan’s largest with, 243,782 employees in 2014. Employment in this cluster has been consistently growing, more health care workers needed to care for Michigan’s aging population and in response to regulatory and other changes. Registered nurses are routinely the most indemand job in this cluster.

Registered nurses are at the top of St. Clair County’s most in-demand Health Care cluster occupations again for Q2 2015. Local employers posted 87 online job ads for the occupation this quarter, up from 70 postings for RNs during Q1. Employer demand for this occupation far outweighs demand for other Health Care occupations. Nursing assistants garnered 17 online job ads and medical record and health information technicians had 14 postings during Q2.

HEALTH CARE TOP JOBS

HEALTH CARE ONLINE JOB POSTINGS OVER TIME

Postings for occupations in the Health Care cluster in St. Clair County increased 5.7% between Q1 and Q2 2015, from 266 to 282 online job ads. These 282 are a new highest posting level for this cluster in St. Clair County since analysis began in 2011.

Health Care is one of St. Clair County’s largest clusters in terms of employer demand; postings in this cluster account for 17.1% of all online job ads in St. Clair for this quarter.

St. Clair County has a slight competitive edge in many of its in-demand Health Care occupations. Location quotients (LQs) are above 1.00, representing the national average. Registered nurses, the most in-demand occupation for this cluster, have a LQ of 1.17, meaning that the concentration of this worker in St. Clair is 17% higher than the national average.

Top health care jobs, like registered nurses ($30.31 per hour), physician assistants ($40.20 per hour) and physical therapists ($38.16 per hour), offer St. Clair County workers good wages. Many of the top occupations also offer good wages at the entry level (10th percentile) with opportunity for upward wage growth.

Most Health Care cluster occupations require some post-secondary education, like an associate’s degree or a post-secondary certificate. Higher skilled occupations like physician assistants or physical therapists require advanced degrees, like a master’s degree or doctoral or professional degree. Regional institutions report high numbers of completions for programs related to top indemand jobs, like registered nurses. Continued high demand for these occupations, then, could indicated a mismatch between skills conferred by degree completion and skills sought by employers, if not simply that demand is outpacing completion rates.

HEALTH CARE TOP 10 JOBS LOCATION QUOTIENT AND WAGES

TOP 10 JOBS RECENT GRADUATES AND EDUCATION AND TRAINING REQUIREMENTS

RETAIL AND HOSPITALITY The retail and hospitality cluster is the largest occupational cluster that WIN analyzes, both in terms of employment and online job postings. This cluster is of very high importance to the region because it is the first to grow when the economy expands and the first to contract in a downturn: It is often a leading indicator. As defined by WIN, the retail and hospitality cluster encompasses all customer service occupations, with skills transferrable across the retail sector, the hotel industry, food and beverage service industry, call centers, and other areas. In 2014, 632,825 individuals were employment in retail and hospitality related occupations in the region.

The top jobs in the Retail & Hospitality cluster in St. Clair County during Q2 2015 were first-line supervisors of retail salesworkers with 67 online job ads and customer service representatives with 65 online job ads. Other top occupations with more than 50 job postings during Q2 were wholesale and manufacturing sales representatives and retail salespersons.

RETAIL AND HOSPITALITY TOP JOBS

RETAIL AND HOSPITALITY ONLINE JOB POSTINGS OVER TIME

Postings for the Retail & Hospitality cluster in St. Clair County grew by 3.5% between quarters. St. Clair County employers posted 398 online job ads for Retail & Hospitality occupations during Q2. Retail cluster postings make it the largest cluster in St. Clair County in terms of employer demand, accounting for 24.2% of all online job ads this quarter.

St. Clair County already has high concentrations of workers employed in Retail & Hospitality occupations. Many of the top in-demand jobs in this cluster have location quotients (LQs) higher than 1.00, the national average. For example, retail salesworkers have a LQ of 1.42 in St. Clair County, meaning that the concentration of this worker is 1.42 times, or 42% higher than, the national average.

Occupations in this cluster compensate workers anywhere from $9.49 to $32.21 per hour, at the median. Management level and wholesale & manufacturing sales positions offer some of the highest wages for their workers, and the most opportunity for wage growth with experience.

The higher-paying retail positions, mentioned above, are those most likely to require more education, like a bachelor’s degree. Most other occupations in the Retail & Hospitality cluster require little previous experience and only some onthe-job training of their workers. Many degrees can prepare workers for high level retail jobs in sales and marketing, so analyzing regional related degree completions is not very applicable to this occupation cluster.

RETAIL AND HOSPITALITY TOP 10 JOBS LOCATION QUOTIENT AND WAGES

TOP 10 JOBS EDUCATION AND TRAINING REQUIREMENTS

AGRICULTURE WIN’s agriculture cluster brings together occupations that require knowledge of the farming, livestock, the environment, and natural sciences. Occupations range from farm workers, to environmental engineers, to meat butchers, and recreation workers. In 2014, 30,424 individuals were employed in the agriculture cluster in Region 9.

Wholesale & manufacturing sales representatives for technical & scientific products were the top indemand Agriculture occupation in St. Clair County during Q2 2015, with employers posting 7 online job ads for these positions. Recreation workers had 3 online job postings. The small number of postings in the Agriculture occupation cluster is indicative of employers’ disinclination to use online job ads to recruit for these positions, rather than actual low demand.

AGRICULTURE TOP JOBS

AGRICULTURE ONLINE JOB POSTINGS OVER TIME

As mentioned previously, Agriculture occupations do not often garner a large number of online job postings.

Postings in this cluster decreased 45.2% between quarters, from 45 postings in Q1 2015 to 31 in Q2.

Agriculture occupations are the smallest cluster in St. Clair County, accounting for just 1.9% of all online job ads in the region.

St. Clair County has high concentrations of many in-demand agricultural workers. As an example, pesticide handlers, sprayers, and applicators have a location quotient (LQ) of 1.25 in St. Clair County, which means that this type of worker is 25% more concentrated here than the rest of the nation on average. Other occupations are less concentrated in St. Clair County, with LQs lower than 1.00, the national average.

Most Agriculture cluster jobs are not high paying in St. Clair County, with many wages between $9 and $14 an hour, at the median. Wholesale and manufacturing sales representatives for technical and scientific products are the most in-demand and highest paid occupation in St. Clair’s Agriculture cluster, making $32.21 an hour on average, but these workers have one of the lowest concentrations out of the county’s top Agriculture jobs (LQ = 0.48).

Many of the in-demand agriculture occupations do not require more than a high school diploma and are attainable with some on-the-job training. However, high-paying jobs like technical and scientific product sales representatives require at least a bachelor’s degree.

Many degrees can prepare completers for multiple jobs, therefore it is not advantageous to compare completions to demand in a cluster like Agriculture where programs do not map perfectly onto occupations and many occupations may not even require a degree.

AGRICULTURE TOP 10 JOBS LOCATION QUOTIENT AND WAGES

TOP 10 JOBS RECENT GRADUATES AND EDUCATION AND TRAINING REQUIREMENTS

SECTION THREE

LABOR MARKET AND DEMAND SUMMARY

Employment in St. Clair County grew 1.1% between Q1 2015 and Q2, from 66,406 to 67,137, with an available labor force of 71,953 during Q2. This labor force number represents a decrease in participation compared to Q1; St. Clair County’s labor force shrank 0.5% from 72,328 between quarters. Because of the decreased labor force participation, the unemployment rate for St. Clair County dropped from 8.2% in Q1 2015 to 6.7% in Q2.

Total job postings are up 8.1% over Q1 2015 levels in St. Clair County. Local employers posted 1,647 online job ads from April through June. This increase in employer demand is consistent with the increase in demand seen for 4 of the 6 occupational clusters WIN analyzes. The Agriculture and Engineers & Designers clusters were the only groups that saw slight decreases in postings this quarter.

64.9% of total job postings in St. Clair County during Q2 are captured in the WIN occupational clusters.

SECTION FOUR DATA NOTES AND SOURCES

DATA NOTES AND SOURCES SPECIAL DATA NOTE • Due to changes in Burning Glass’s aggregation, parsing, and deduplication methods implemented in December 2014, data from previously released reports should not be compared to data in reports starting in Q4 2014 and moving forward. For the Q4 2014 report, the WIN team re-gathered and analyzed all of the data (postings from 2011 through 2014) to ensure that all numbers are up-to-date. If you would like information on the differences between the updated data and data from previous reports, please contact WIN's Research Director Colby Spencer Cesaro at colby.cesaro@win-semich.org.

• Wage data that is not labeled as a national average is specific to each report's geography. For example, wage data reported in the WIN Region report is averaged across the 9-county WIN Region. Data in the Wayne County report is wage data solely for Wayne County.

• All numbers included in this report are the correct and updated data.

• Wage and educational attainment data available varies depending on the occupation. All wage and educational attainment data provided is for the 6digit SOC code. Some 6-digit codes do not have education or wage data available, in this case we leave the information blank.

• Educational attainment data available refers to the share of the current workforce in each bracket, not what is shown in postings. Employers may require different educational attainment than what is in this report.

• Quarterly reports: Due to a data update in Burning Glass Technologies’ Labor Insight tool, comparisons should not be made between data from each quarterly report and the annual review data should not be compared to data from previous quarterly reports.

• Adjustments to the labor force information were also made to reflect and incorporate updated inputs, re-estimation, and controlling to new statewide totals. Much of the information related to monthly and quarterly employment is updated several months after the initial release. More information can be found here: http://www.bls.gov/lau/launews1. htm

DATA NOTES AND SOURCES UNDERSTANDING DEMAND VS EMPLOYMENT • Employment refers to actual employment numbers—the number of people in jobs—in targeted industries or occupations.

• Demand refers to statistics derived from employer job postings, which indicate the potential for employment but may or may not materialize into actual jobs.

• Job posting-related demand, as presented in this report, is measured by online job postings. Employer demand may be larger than what is highlighted in this report if employers find talent by other means.

DATA SOURCES • Labor market demand data for this report was compiled using Burning Glass Technologies’ Labor Insight Tool, and analyzed by the Workforce Intelligence Network. Other data sources include, the Bureau of Labor Statistics, and Economic Modeling Specialists Inc. (EMSI). Check out our website http://www.winsemich.org for more data and detailed information about our sources.

UNDERSTANDING CLUSTERS • Rather than focusing on talent demand within industries (types of firms), WIN generally emphasizes exploring talent demand based on occupations, including the skills, educational credentials, and experience needed to work in them.

• WIN research examines industry data, as the health of companies can be useful for economic development purposes. However, shifting focus from industry to occupation is important as different types of occupations with extremely different skillsets may work within and across industries. For example, accountants, computer specialists, and engineers all may work in the manufacturing industry.

• By clustering occupations, the talent system can identify employer demand for particular skillsets across multiple industry types and develop a response through training and pipeline development to meet that demand.

BOARD ORGANIZATIONS

FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT RESEARCH AND DATA, VISIT OUR WEBSITE: WWW.WIN-SEMICH.ORG/DATA-RESEARCH