Short report q1 2015 saint clair county reduced size pdf

QUARTERLY REPORT SAINT CLAIR COUNTY Q1 2015

SUMMARY SAINT CLAIR Q1 2015 DEMAND OVERVIEW Employment in St. Clair County increased 1.7% between 2013 and 2014, with employment averaging at 67,596 individuals and the labor force at 74,555 in 2014. With this increase in employment, and a small decrease in the labor force, St. Clair County also so its unemployment rate drop 2 percentage points, from 11.2% in 2013 to 9.3% in 2014.

The top job demanded by employers in St. Clair County during Q1 2015 was heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers (95 postings), taking over retail salespersons’ top spot from Q4 2014.

The second most demanded occupation for Q1 was registered nurses, which saw a jump in postings from 46 in Q4 to 70 in Q1.

Total job postings in St. Clair County hung around 1,500 throughout 2014, and have remained there in Q1 2015 with 1,513 postings. However, this consistency is part of an overall increase in employer demand; postings have generally increased since Q1 2011 (746 postings) to now, with a major peak in demand in Q3 2013 (1,958 postings). *This report includes top jobs and postings over time highlights for clusters that have made major shifts or movements in the past quarter. The data is updated each quarter based on the clusters with the most noteworthy changes. For complete top jobs lists, educational attainment, and wage information, please see the regional reports or contact WIN's Research Director Colby Cesaro at colby.cesaro@win-semich.org.

TOP JOBS Q1 2015

ANALYSIS Postings for retail salespersons in St. Clair County decreased between Q4 2014 and Q1 2015, from 95 to 58 postings. This decline led retail salespersons to cede their top job spot to heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers in Q1, even while postings for this occupation remained stagnant between quarters. The second most demanded job in Q1 was registered nurses, which took a big leap from 46 postings in Q4 to 70 in Q1. St. Clair County’s top jobs rankings were further shuffled by a decline in demand for customer service representatives, down from 49 to 27 postings, and occupations like childcare workers and nannies, which disappeared from the top jobs lists altogether.

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HIGHLIGHTS IT POSTINGS OVER TIME

ANALYSIS During 2014, postings for occupations in the IT cluster hovered around 30 in St. Clair County. Q1 2015 sees a peak in postings for IT occupations at 46, similar to peaks at 47 in Q2 2011 and 43 in Q3 2013. Q1 2015’s new numbers can be seen as part of a cycle in postings for St. Clair IT occupations that features a yearly peak, present in the data since 2011, excluding 2012.

SKILLED TRADE & TECHNICIAN POSTINGS OVER TIME

ANALYSIS Postings for skilled trade & technician jobs have leveled off in St. Clair County following a peak at 121 postings in Q3 2013.

Postings in 2014 and into Q1 2015 hover between 70 and 95, far less volatile than the high extremes seen in Q3 2011 (127 postings), Q2 2012 (119), and Q3 2013 and their consecutive declines in Q4 2011 to 22 and in Q4 2012 to 58 postings.

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LABOR MARKET OVERVIEW EMPLOYMENT & LABOR FORCE

ANALYSIS During 2014, employment in St. Clair County averaged 67,596 individuals with an available labor force of 74,555.

Employment grew steadily over the course of 2014 from 66,050 in January to 68,414 in December. Employment grew 1.7% from 2013 to 2014, while the labor force shrank 0.4%, bringing the unemployment rate down 2 percentage points.

These data point to a slow but steady increase in employment in St. Clair County as part of the recession recovery.

TOTAL POSTINGS OVER TIME

ANALYSIS Total job postings in St. Clair County hung around 1,500 throughout 2014, and have remained there in Q1 2015 with 1,513 postings. However, this consistency is part of an overall increase in employer demand; postings have generally increased since Q1 2011 (746 postings) to now, with a major peak in demand in Q3 2013 (1,958 postings).

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POSTING TRENDS BY CLUSTER

ANALYSIS Retail & hospitality occupations represent one of the largest clusters in St. Clair County, accounting for 25.4% of all job postings in the county. However, demand by employers in this cluster decreased by almost 25% between Q4 2014 and Q1 2015. The other top occupational cluster for St. Clair County is health care, with job demand here accounting for 17.6% of postings in Q1. Postings for health care occupations increased by a third from 200 postings in Q4 to 266 in Q1. All other clusters except TDL, which remains stagnant after a big jump in Q4, saw increased demand between quarters.

The clusters analyzed by WIN in St. Clair County account for 64.2% of all online job postings in the county.

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TOP JOBS BY CLUSTER ENGINEER & DESIGNER TOP JOBS

ANALYSIS Mechanical engineers took the top spot for engineering & design jobs in St. Clair County in Q1 2015. This is a jump from the third place spot in Q4 2014, and a jump in postings from 4 to 17 into Q1 2015. Industrial engineers ranked second in this cluster with 12 postings, and electrical engineers third with 10 postings, both shifting down in the rankings compared to Q4 2014 to make room for mechanical engineers at the top.

Civil and manufacturing engineers retain their 4th and 5th place rankings for in-demand careers from Q4 2014.

SKILLED TRADE & TECHNICIAN TOP JOBS

ANALYSIS Computer-controlled machine tool operators, metal & plastic and production workers, all other, switched rankings and posting numbers between Q4 2014 and Q1 2015 in the skilled trade & technician cluster.

Computer-controlled machine tool operators are the most in-demand with 17 postings; there were 11 postings in St. Clair County for production workers. Milling and planing machine setters & operators and tool & die makers were other top jobs in skilled trades for Q1 2015.

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TOP JOBS BY CLUSTER HEALTH CARE TOP JOBS

ANALYSIS Registered nurses were by far the most in-demand occupation in the health care cluster for Q1 2015, with 70 postings. Laboratory technicians and medical assistants were the next most posted jobs with 16 and 15 postings, respectively. The dramatic demand for RNs compared to other health care occupations continues a trend seen also in Q4 2014, but this occupation still saw a jump in postings from 46 to 70 between quarters.

IT TOP JOBS

ANALYSIS Software developers, applications were the most in-demand occupation in the IT cluster for St. Clair County in Q1 2015. Computer user support specialists rank second during Q1 while they were far-and-away the most in-demand occupation during last year’s Q4.

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