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estern SouthwestRegion&
Job Vacancy SurveySeptember 2002
ArchuletaDeltaDoloresGunnisonHinsdaleLa PlataMontezumaMontroseOuraySan Juan &San MiguelCounties
Workforce Research & AnalysisLabor Market InformationColorado Department of Labor and Employment
C O L O R A D O
C E N T E R
W
Western & Southwest RegionJob Vacancy Survey
ConductedJuly 10 - 18, 2002
State of ColoradoBill Owens, Governor
Colorado Department of Labor & EmploymentVickie Armstrong, Executive Director
Jeffrey M. Wells, Deputy Executive Director
Funding Provided in Part byThe Colorado Workforce Development Council
September 2002
Workforce Research & AnalysisLabor Market InformationTwo Park Central, Suite 3001515 Arapahoe StreetDenver, CO 80202-2117
(303) 318-8890Email: lmi@state.co.us
www.coworkforce.com/lmi/wra/home.htm
ContentsIntroduction ................................................................................................1How to Use This Report ............................................................................2
Employers ........................................................................................2Job Seekers ......................................................................................3Workforce Centers ............................................................................3Economic Developers ......................................................................3Caveats..............................................................................................4
Executive Summary....................................................................................5Western & Southwest Region ....................................................................6
The Job Vacancy Survey Sample ......................................................9Data Collection ..............................................................................10
VacanciesIndustry, Size and Status ................................................................11Education and Experience Requirements ......................................15Difficulty to Fill ..............................................................................18Additional Compensation
Medical Insurance ....................................................................20Sign-On Bonus............................................................................21
Occupations ..............................................................................................22Methodology ............................................................................................32
Computer Assisted Telephone Interview ........................................32Survey Sample Methodology ..........................................................33Data Editing....................................................................................33Occupational Coding ......................................................................33Wage Conversion ............................................................................33
Definitions ................................................................................................34
The staff of Workforce Research and Analysis would like toextend sincerest gratitude to all area employers who participatedin this study. The analysis provided in this document would notbe possible without their help.
1. Population by County ......................................................................................62. Unemployment Rates for July 2002................................................................63. Western & Southwest Region Employers & Employees, 3rd Quarter, 2001....74. Employment & Labor Force Trends for the Western & Southwest Region ....85. Estimated Vacancies by Industry Group ......................................................116. Average Wages by Industry Group................................................................127. Estimated Vacancies by Size Class ..............................................................138. Average Wages by Size Class........................................................................139. Vacancies by Employment Status ................................................................14
10. Average Wages by Employment Status ........................................................1411. Vacancies by Education ................................................................................1512. Average Wages by Education ........................................................................1613. Vacancies by Experience ..............................................................................1614. Average Wages by Experience ......................................................................1715. Vacancies by Difficulty to Fill ......................................................................1816. Average Wages by Difficulty to Fill..............................................................1817. Vacancies by Time Open for Hire ................................................................1918. Average Wages by Time Open for Hire ........................................................1919. Vacancies by Employer’s Contribution to Medical Insurance ....................2020. Average Wages by Employer’s Contribution to Medical Insurance............2021. Vacancies by Sign-On Bonus ........................................................................2122. Vacancies by Major Occupational Groups ..................................................2223. Average Wages by Major Occupational Group ............................................23
1. Industry Categories ....................................................................................92. Experience Requirements by Educational Level ......................................173. Job Vacancy Survey Occupations with OES Wages ................................24
List of Figures
List of Tables
1Job Vacancy Survey
Introduction
The unemployment rate, along with the leveland growth rate of employment, has beenused as an indicator of labor market condi-
tions for decades. While this indicator providesinformation about changes in the supply anddemand for labor, it reveals nothing about the skillsmost sought after by employers. As such, individu-als preparing themselves for the job market havedone so with limited knowledge of what skills arenecessary to successfully compete in the contempo-rary labor market. Employers have had an equallydifficult time determining appropriate compensationlevels due to a limited knowledge of what similarfirms in their region are currently offering.
Job seekers and employers, as well asWorkforce Centers and economic developersneed more than a measure of demand for work-ers at a specific point in time. They also need ameasure of where in the economy that demand islocated and what education and experience levels aremost preferred. The Colorado Department of Labor andEmployment (CDLE) developed the Job VacancySurvey (JVS) to meet this need. The JVS is designed toprovide a snapshot estimate of job vacancies along withdetailed information and analysis on accompanyingwages, skill requirements and work experience.
The CDLE’s survey unit collects original data byconducting phone interviews with a representative
sample of employers in a given region. The depart-ment’s economists analyze the raw data, estimate thenumber of vacancies in the area and publish the reportwithin weeks of the original data collection, providinga timely portrait of the employment situation.
The survey is funded by a grant from the U.S.Department of Labor’s Employment and TrainingAdministration. The survey is produced for each regionin Colorado by Labor Market Information’s office ofWorkforce Research and Analysis.
Colorado Job Vacancy Survey Regions
This publication is a product of the Colorado Departmentof Labor and Employment’s Labor Market InformationSection and was prepared by the Workforce Research andAnalysis unit. Members of this unit are:
Senior Economist: Wande Reweta, Ph.D.Economists: Yasir Ahmed
Sonya GuramSteven Krichbaum
Paul PaezMichael Patton
Leora StarrProgram Assistant: Dionne M. FreyGraphic Artists: Martha Cooper
Vicki N. Netherland
Analyst for this region: Steven Krichbaum
Material in this publication is in the public domain and,with appropriate credit, may be reproduced withoutpermission. Please reference: Colorado Departmentof Labor and Employment, Labor Market Information,Workforce Research and Analysis.This report is published semi-annually. Comments,suggestions, and questions regarding content andformat are welcome and may be addressed to:
Workforce Research & AnalysisLabor Market InformationColorado Department of Labor & EmploymentTwo Park Central, Suite 3001515 Arapahoe Street,Denver, CO 80202-2117
Email: lmi@state.co.us (303) 318-8890
www.coworkforce.com/lmi/wra/home.htm
2 Western & Southwest Region
With the analysis of labor market conditions,many questions regarding labor demand andsupply, as well as labor skills requirements,
often arise...
� Is there a labor shortage in the region?� If so, what types of labor are in short supply?� Is there a shortage of skills?� What skills are necessary to fill current vacancies?
The answers to these and similar questions areimportant in the decision-making processes ofemployers, employees, job seekers, trainers, and plan-ning officials. While Labor Market Information (LMI)provides data on the local labor force supply, the JobVacancy Survey complements this by providing infor-mation about the demand for labor and offers a morecomplete picture of local labor markets.
How to Use This Report
The Job Vacancy Survey measures the area’s currentvacancies along with education and experience
requirements. This report can serve as a strategic plan-ning tool in the following areas:
� Employee Recruitment—If findings indicate that employers have had posi-tions open for a significant period of time, andcompensation is sufficient, it might indicate ashortage of applicants in the area. Therefore,recruitment efforts could be focused outside ofthe region in areas where the necessary skills aremore likely to be found.
� Employee Training—A firm may also choose to increase investment intraining for their current employees instead ofexpanding recruitment efforts.
� Compensation and Benefits Planning—The Job Vacancy Survey provides wages offeredfor surveyed job openings. Tables in this report alsodetail current wages by occupation fromOccupational Employment Statistics data. Togetherthese pieces of information can be used to developwage guidelines for compensation practices.
� New Site Selection—Employers considering relocating or expanding tothe area can study the survey and determine howeasily the company’s employment needs will bemet by reviewing current vacancies. Companiesneed a sufficient, qualified labor pool to operate.High labor demand within a particular industrysegment along with indications of difficulty fillingthese positions should caution a firm requiring asimilar labor profile.
Employers
3Job Vacancy Survey
The Job Vacancy Survey is designed to aidColorado’s Workforce Centers and other job place-
ment organizations. As Workforce Centers serve jobseekers and employers, the report acts as a handy ref-erence for information on current vacancies, positionrequirements, wages and benefits offered, seasonalemployment trends, and dominant regional industries.Workforce Center representatives can increase place-ment success by directing job seekers toward highdemand occupations and industries.
Public officials, educational institutions, and gov-ernment agencies can use this survey information
to effectively apply resources to education, training,and job placement programs.
While this report is a picture of the area’s currentemployment needs and historical seasonal patterns,other Labor Market Information products provide pro-jections of occupational growth and anticipated open-ings (www.coworkforce.com/lmi/oeo/oeo.htm). Theprojections highlight growing as well as decliningoccupations. Investments in the workforce can bedirected toward occupations or industries that continu-ously contribute to the local economy or to thosewhere there is a constant need for workers.
Economic development professionals can use theJob Vacancy Survey to track the labor situation in
key industries and evaluate the area’s economicgrowth and development potential. The survey resultshelp determine where bottlenecks may occur shouldcurrent vacancies persist. Economic developers can
also generate a comprehensive picture of the region bydetermining where current labor demand stands today,as identified by the survey, and where the local marketis trending using Labor Market Information’s employ-ment projections.
Workforce Centers
Economic Developers
The Job Vacancy Survey provides job seekers witha broad view of which industries are hiring, which
occupations are in demand along with currentlyoffered salaries and benefits, and what education andexperience levels are required. This report is aroadmap that can be used to determine where the bestpaying jobs are given an individual’s skills and levelof education. Job seekers can also use Labor Market
Information’s occupational projections, which providea long-term outlook of occupational demand, alongwith the survey, which illustrates the current level ofdemand in the local job market to determine how cur-rent employment opportunities can contribute to theirlong-term career goals. Career minded individuals cantailor education, training, and work-experience to fitfuture high-demand positions.
Job Seekers
4 Western & Southwest Region
The Job Vacancy Survey statistics are indicators ofthe demand for workers in the region and should
not be interpreted as actual values. We rely on infor-mation from surveyed companies to obtain a represen-tative sample of institutions and the occupations thatfuel them. Not all surveyed firms participate; however,the employers who do participate enable the produc-tion of statistically reliable results.
The study provides estimates of job openings for apoint-in-time; they do not necessarily portray the dis-tribution of job vacancies in the region. This reportdoes not attempt to explain the cause of vacancies—whether these current vacancies are due to actualgrowth or to job turnover in an occupation. Readersshould also keep in mind that the authors are notattempting to project the level of vacancies into thefuture. Be aware that events having occurred sincethe time period analyzed such as plant closings orthe migration of people in and out of the area might
significantly affect the vacancy status of some occupa-tions. Job openings are very dynamic – current open-ings are being filled, new positions are being created,and some roles are being phased-out.
Occupational demand is subject to seasonal changesand affected by business cycles. For example, thereader would want to be aware that a decrease invacancies for construction workers from April toNovember could represent seasonal variations, notnecessarily a long-term decrease in the demand forsuch workers. When several years of survey data havebeen collected, we may be able to identify patternsthat more accurately reflect changing labor marketconditions. Regional surveys are timed to make thesecomparisons possible.
Given the caveats, appropriate application by theuser is a key element in this report being a useful toolfor job vacancy analysis.
Caveats
5Job Vacancy Survey
Executive Summary
The summer Western & Southwest Job VacancySurvey (JVS) was conducted from July 10ththrough July 18th, 2002. The goal of the survey
is to provide current information on the demand forworkers so that employers, job seekers, economic devel-opers, educators and workforce centers can make moreinformed decisions in the Western & Southwest Region.
Over the survey period a sample of private employerswith at least five employees, as well as all largeemployers and government agencies were contacted.Employers were asked if they were actively hiring at
the time of the survey and a variety of questions aboutthe positions that they were seeking to fill.
A total of 733 employers (22% of employers in thesample universe), representing approximately 30% ofthe region’s total employment, responded to the survey.The survey had a 77% effective response rate. Out ofthese, 123 were government agencies, 28 were largeemployers and 582 were small to mid-sized entities.The major findings of the survey are as follows:
� An estimated 850 jobs were open for immediate hire in the region during thesurvey period compared to 1,500 last year.
� About 15% of the responding employers reported having at least one vacancy.
� The overall average wage for all vacancies is $14.00 per hour.
� Healthcare Practitioners and Technical occupations accounted for almost 25% ofall vacancies.
� Seventy-two percent of the openings are full-time.
� Half of the vacancies in the Western & Southwest Region require educationbeyond a high school diploma/GED.
� The vast majority of vacancies occur in Service Producing Industries.
� Over 70% of the job openings include some form of medical insurance.
� Thirteen percent of the vacancies are considered very difficult to fill, downfrom 33% in July 2001.
� Fifty-seven percent of the vacancies have been open for less than 30 days, upfrom 45% a year ago.
� Seventy-two percent of the openings require experience either related to or in thesame field as the vacant position.
6 Western & Southwest Region
3.7%4.8%
4.6%
3.7%
8.0%1.4%
3.7%
4.6% 4.1%4.7%
9.3%
ColoradoStatewide
5.2%
Western &Southwest
4.3%
Figure 2: Unemployment Rates for July 2002 The region employed84,315 people in Julyof 2002 out of a laborforce of 88,084. Theregion’s preliminaryunemployment rateis lower than boththe state as a wholeand the national rateof 5.9%. The unem-ployment rate in theWestern & SouthwestRegion has increasedfrom 3.9% a year agoto 4.3% in the cur-rent survey. Thenumber of continuedunemploymentclaims for the regionhas risen more than30% in the last year1.
Western & Southwest Region
The Western & Southwest Region con-sists of Archuleta, Delta, Dolores,Gunnison, Hinsdale, La Plata,
Montezuma, Montrose, Ouray, SanJuan, and San Miguel counties. TheU.S. Census Bureau estimated theregion’s population at just over170,000 people in July of 2001. LaPlata and Montrose, make upalmost half (46.6%) of the entireregion’s population.
San Juan
0.3%
Delta
16.6%
Ouray
2.3%Hinsdale
0.5%
Dolores
1.1%
La Plata
26.4%
Montrose
20.2%
Montezuma
14.1%
Gunnison
8.2%
Archuleta
6.2%
San Miguel
4.1%
Figure 1: Population by County
U.S. Census Bureau,July 2001 Population Estimates
Source: CDLE, July 2002
(Rates Not Seasonally Adjusted)
1CDLE, Local Area Unemployment Statistics
Montezuma
Dolores
DeltaGunnison
Hins
dale
San Miguel
MontroseOuray
San Juan
La Plata Archuleta
7Job Vacancy Survey
10%
4%
21%
3%
3%
3%
3%
3%
2%
17%
8%
5%
4%
4%
4%
3%
24%
25%
1%
31%
21%
2%
0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30% 35%
Services
Retail Trade
Construction
FIRE
Government
TCPU
Wholesale Trade
Agriculture
Durable Manufacturing
Non-Durable Manufacturing
Mining
Employment Employers
Figure 3: Western & Southwest Region Employers & Employees, 3rd Quarter, 2001
Source: Colorado Employmentand Wages (ES-202)
Agriculture includes Forestry and FishingFIRE–Finance, Insurance, and Real EstateTCPU–Transportation, Communication and Public Utilities
Like the rest of the state, the economy of theWestern & Southwest Region consists predominantlyof Services and Retail Trade businesses. Combined,employers in these industries make up 52% of the totalemployers and 49% of the employment.
It is important to note that the Bureau of LaborStatistics’ Employment and Wages (ES-202) programcollects information on firms whose employees arecovered by unemployment insurance. Nationally, this
program captures 94% of total employment.Agriculture, however, is an industry in which muchof the employment is not covered. Many agriculturalemployers are exempt from paying unemploymentinsurance tax, and therefore are not represented inthe ES-202 numbers. Simply put, agriculturalemployment may represent a much larger part of theWestern & Southwest Region labor market than indi-cated by the 3% reported under the Employment andWages program.
8 Western & Southwest Region
Figure 4 shows a 6-year history of both the region’slabor force and the employment level between July1996 and July 2002. Several different conclusions maybe drawn from this graph:� The rising trend lines demonstrate that both labor
force and employment levels in the region havegrown since 1996.Because labor force and employment levels varyfrom season to season, change does not occursmoothly. Both levels gradually increased throughthe summer of 1998. Labor force and employmentthen decreased slightly until July 2001 and hassince increased once again.
� The graph also illustrates the unemployment level.The unemployment level is the gap between the laborforce and employment. The larger the distancebetween the two lines, the larger the number of unem-ployed. In July 1996 there were 4,422 unemployedcompared to 3,769 in July 2002. In that time theunemployment rate dropped from 5.4% to 4.3%.
� In addition, Figure 4 demonstrates the region’sseasonal trend.Both employment levels and the labor force peak inthe middle of the summer and bottom out in the
middle of winter. The Job Vacancy Survey is con-ducted semi-annually in the middle of winter andsummer in order to measure the demand for laborat both high and low employment periods.
Surveys conducted in summer represent thedemand for labor at a time when employers arenearing peak employment, yet are still in theprocess of actively recruiting. Vacancies found inwinter represent the demand for labor at a time ofyear when employment is at its seasonal low. Astudy in winter tells of the type of occupations indemand even when employment is at traditionallylow points of the year.
There are currently several factors placing stress onthe Western & Southwest economy. Unfortunately, itis difficult to determine the exact effect of these fac-tors on the local economy until more local informa-tion becomes available. These factors include thefollowing:
The U.S. Economic Slowdown—After the longest economic expansion in U.S. his-tory ended last year, the U.S. economy inevitablyslowed. Unemployment rates have increased
65,000
70,000
75,000
80,000
85,000
90,000
Jul-9
6
Jan-
97
Jul-9
7
Jan-
98
Jul-9
8
Jan-
99
Jul-9
9
Jan-
00
Jul-0
0
Jan-
01
July-0
1
Jan-
02
July-0
2
Labor Force Employment
Figure 4: Employment & Labor Force Trends for the Western & Southwest Region
Source: CDLE, Local Area Unemployment Statistics
9Job Vacancy Survey
The Job Vacancy Survey Sample
The Summer Western & Southwest Region surveywas conducted from July 10th through July 18th,
2002. For the purpose of this report, all knownemployers with 5 or more employees as well as allgovernment employers are referred to as the sampleuniverse. Firms with fewer than 5 employees make up68% of all employers in the region, but 20% of thetotal employment. Employment in the sample universeaccounts for approximately 80% of the region’s totalemployment.
The Job Vacancy Survey separates employers intoeither government or private industry. Private firmsare then split into large and small to mid-size cate-gories. Firms with at least 150 employees are consid-ered large employers. Attempts are made to contactall government agencies and large firms. The remain-ing small to mid-size firms are split into industrygroups.4 To achieve a solid representation from eachgroup, 360 completed responses were required. For
industry groups containing less than 360 employers, aresponse rate of at least 50% was required.
Government makes up 18% of the employment inthe sample universe, while private industry employersmake up the remaining 82%. Large firms account for16% of private industry employment in the sample uni-verse. Firms employing from 5 to 149 individuals areconsidered small to mid-size employers, and accountfor the remaining 84% of the private industry employ-ment. Over the survey period, a total of 733 employers,approximately 22% of employers in the sample uni-verse, responded to the survey. Out of these, 123 weregovernment agencies, 28 were large employers and 582were from the small to mid-sized category.
The response rate for the survey is 77% and the coop-eration rate is 98%. The response rate measures howsuccessful the survey is at contacting eligible employers.The cooperation rate measures how willing employersare to participate in the survey once they are contacted.
Table 1: Industry Categories
Goods Producing Industries Service Producing IndustriesTransportation, Communications, and
Public UtilitiesWholesale TradeRetail TradeFinance, Insurance, and Real EstateServices (including Agricultural Services)
Agriculture, Forestry, and Fishing (exceptAgricultural Services)
Mining ConstructionManufacturing
Private Industry
GovernmentPublic Administration
2Feaster, Seth, “The Incredible Shrinking Stock Market”, The New York Times, July 21, 2002.3US Drought Monitor, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, http://www.drought.unl.edu/dm/monitor.html.4Based on the 1987 Standard Industrial Classification Manual.
throughout the country and U.S. equity marketslost almost half their value from March 24, 2000to July 18, 20022.
The 2002 Drought—The 2002 drought has impacted the entire stateof Colorado, but southwestern Colorado hasbeen particularly hard hit. Precipitation andstream flow levels are at all time lows andaccording to the U.S. Drought Monitor3
Southwest Colorado is in an exceptionaldrought, the most extreme on the scale.
Fire Danger—Several major fires have erupted in the region,including the 77,000 acre Missionary Ridge firenear Durango and the Mesa Verde National Parkfire near Cortez. Fire danger also closed theDurango-Silverton railroad for over a month andrestricted park access through much of the summer.
10 Western & Southwest Region
Data for the Job Vacancy Survey is collected usinga Computer Assisted Telephone Interview (CATI)
process. While this system of data collection has beenin use in the public sector for several years, Coloradois the first state in the nation to pioneer the use ofCATI data collection for the Job Vacancy Survey.
Professional interviewers, trained in economic datacollection processes, gather information from a callcenter located in the Colorado Department of Laborand Employment. This interview process results inincreased control over the survey process, better accu-racy, and dependable results.
Employers are asked if they have job vacancies oropen positions which they are actively seeking to fill.
Those that are actively hiring are then asked to pro-vide more detail about each position—compensationoffered, levels of education and experience required,and the employer’s perceived difficulty in filling thevacancy along with the number of days the positionhas been opened. Employers are also asked if sign-onbonuses and health insurance coverage are offered forthese positions. These data are collected in addition tothe minimum and maximum wages in order todescribe more fully the compensation offered.
The survey is conducted so as to ensure the statisti-cal integrity of this report. When necessary, employersare contacted a second time to clarify responses.
Data Collection
11Job Vacancy Survey
720
60 700
100
200
300
400
500
600
700
800
Service Producing Industries Goods Producing Industries Government
Vacancies: Industry, Size and Status
During the survey period, an estimated 850vacancies were open for immediate hire withfirms having at least 5 employees in the
Western & Southwest Region. The total number ofestimated vacancies dropped from 1,500 found inthe Summer 2001 JVS.
The region’s estimated vacancy rate is 1.3%. Thevacancy rate is the total number of estimated vacan-cies divided by total employment. In July 2001 theregion had an overall vacancy rate of 1.9%. In this sur-vey, Goods Producing Industries have a vacancy rateof 0.3%, Service Producing Industries 1.6% andGovernment 0.7%.
The total and industry specific vacancy rates aretwo of the most important pieces of information thatthe Job Vacancy Survey produces. Unfortunately,because the Western & Southwest Region survey isonly a year old, it is difficult to determine exactlywhat a vacancy rate of 1.3% tells us about the demandfor workers in the economy. Watching the change in
the vacancy rates through several economic recessionsand expansions will help to better gauge the level ofdemand for labor. When several years of Job VacancySurvey results are available the vacancy rate willbecome a telling indicator of the demand for newworkers, much as the unemployment rate serves as atelling measure of the supply of workers.
Figure 5 demonstrates that the majority of the open-ings occur in Service Producing Industries. Not only doesthis category employ more than twice as many work-ers as Government and Goods Producing Industriescombined, but it also has many high-turnover, high-demand occupations. In this survey registered nurses,nursing aides, orderlies and attendants and hand pack-ers are the most frequently found occupations in theService Producing Industries category. Governmentand Goods Producing Industries make up about 15%of the estimated total of open jobs.
Figure 5: Estimated Vacancies by Industry Group
12 Western & Southwest Region
Because wages offered vary according to an individ-ual’s qualifications, employers were asked to providethe range of wages offered for the vacancies. The aver-age wage is then calculated based on the mid-point ofthat range. The overall average wage offered for allvacancies in the region is $14.00 per hour. In July 2001the average wage was $12.20, although this does notimply that the overall wage level has increased.
While wages do reflect the labor force supply anddemand they are also heavily affected by the particularoccupations that employers are looking to fill duringthe time of the survey. Given that the type and distri-bution of vacancies found this year is different from ayear ago it is difficult to determine whether theincrease in the overall wage is due to a different occu-pational mix or an actual increase in the wage level.The former scenario is more likely than the latter, butas more Job Vacancy Surveys are conducted it will beeasier to answer this question.
The Summer 2002 Job Vacancy Survey is heavilyinfluenced by Healthcare Practitioners and Technicaloccupations. In July 2001 this major occupationalclassification group made up 14% of the vacanciesfound, but this year they make up almost 25%. Theaverage wage for this group is $16.60, greatly affect-ing the overall average wage. In fact, if you excludeHealthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupationsthe overall average wage of $14.00 per hour drops by$2.00 to $12.00.
The reader should keep in mind that all of the esti-mates, proportions and averages in this report are pro-foundly affected by this occupational group. There arehalf as many vacancies as in July 2001, but 26% moreHealthcare Practitioners and Technical open positions.
Wages are slightly higher in Government and GoodsProducing Industries than in Service ProducingIndustries as shown in Figure 6.
Government
$0 $5 $10 $15 $20
JVS Wage - Average Minimum / Average Maximum$0 $5 $10 $15 $20
Service Producing Industries
Goods Producing Industries
Figure 6: Average Wages by Industry Group
13Job Vacancy Survey
Government
$0 $5 $10 $15 $20
JVS Wage - Average Minimum / Average Maximum$0 $5 $10 $15 $20
Large Employers
Small to Mid-Size Employers
Figure 8: Average Wages by Size Class
230
540
800
100
200
300
400
500
600
Large Employers Small to Mid-Size Employers Government
Figure 7: Estimated Vacancies by Size Class
Most vacancies are found in the small to mid-size (5to 149 employees) category. Large employers andgovernment agencies combined make up 36% of thevacancies.
Does this imply that job seekers should target smallto mid-size firms? Not necessarily. It is important toconsider the fact that while large firms (private firmswith 150 or more employees) make up only 1% of allfirms in the region, they have a larger number ofvacancies per employer. Overall, there are morevacancies in small to mid-size firms, but because they
make up such a large proportion of all firms, there areactually fewer vacancies per employer in the small tomid-size category than in government or largeemployers. If a job seeker looks for work at just a fewemployers he may find a greater number of vacanciesopen at large companies than at small to mid-sizefirms. There are 6.7 vacancies per large privateemployer, 0.5 vacancies per governmental employerand 0.2 vacancies per small to mid-size employer.Looking at Figure 7 might prompt a job seeker to focuson smaller companies, but targeting the large compa-nies as well may lead to a more efficient job search.
Large employers and government agencies offerhigher wages than small to mid-size firms. The partic-ular occupations found in a size class play a large rolein determining the average wage in that category. Thevast majority of healthcare related occupations are
found in the large size category. Government agenciesare dominated by: Education, Training and Library;Management; and Office and Administrative Supportoccupational groups. These relatively high payingoccupations positively affect average wages.
14 Western & Southwest Region
Part-time/Permanent
$0 $5 $10 $15 $20
JVS Wage - Average Minimum / Average Maximum
$0 $5 $10 $15 $20
Part-time/Temporary
Full-time/Temporary
Full-time/Permanent
No vacancies reported in this survey.
Figure 10: Average Wages by Employment Status
Permanent positions offer significantly higherwages than temporary ones. Most of the temporarypositions are in either the Food Preparation andServing Related occupations or Construction and
Extraction. Full-time positions tend to pay more thanpart-time positions, but in this case almost half of thepart-time permanent positions were in high payinghealthcare occupations.
Ninety-four percent of the vacancies reported are perma-nent employment opportunities. In addition to offeringstability, these positions also offer higher wages.Full-time/permanent positions make up 66% ofthe total number of vacancies found. Full-time/temporary positions make up 6% ofthe reported vacancies, and part-time/per-manent make up 28%. No vacancieswere reported for part-time/temporarypositions.
Temporary positions typically makeup a small proportion of total vacanciesdespite the dramatic increase in popular-ity of temporary workers during the1990s5. Temporary workers can provide acost effective and productive solution to cer-tain staffing needs, but most vacancies still arefilled permanently.
Full-time/
Temporary
6%
Part-time/
Temporary
0%
Full-time/Permanent
66%
Part-time/Permanent
28%
Figure 9: Vacancies byEmployment Status
Permanent positions offer significantly higherwages than temporary ones. Most of the temporarypositions are in either the Food Preparation andServing Related occupations or Construction and
Extraction. Full-time positions tend to pay more thanpart-time positions, but in this case almost half of thepart-time permanent positions were in high payinghealthcare occupations.
5Daily temporary employment increased 157% from 1990-2000. American Staffing Association.
15Job Vacancy Survey
Vacancies: Education and Experience Requirements
The majority of eco-nomic reportingtreats all workers
as if they are part of thesame labor market. Forexample, if the unem-ployment rate is high,one might assume thereare lots of qualified can-didates and no job open-ings. The reality is thateven in recessions thereare many employers whocannot find qualifiedcandidates for their openpositions. Because aregion’s overall laborforce is made up of hun-dreds of smaller laborgroups, only a certainnumber of qualified can-didates who have thenecessary knowledge,skills and experience cancompete for a given job.It is important, therefore,that job seekers have
18%
32%
22%
20%
4%
4%
0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30% 35%
No Diploma
High School/GED
Vocational Training/
Certification
Two-Year Degree
Bachelor's Degree
Advanced Degree
Figure 11: Vacancies by Education
accurate information regarding what types of educa-tion and experience are in highest demand.
Half of the vacancies in the Western & SouthwestRegion require education beyond a high school diplo-ma/GED. While the vacancies appear to be relatively
well spread out between different educational cate-gories the picture changes drastically when excludinghealthcare occupations. Instead of 50% of the vacan-cies requiring more than a high school diploma, only30% of the non-healthcare related positions have thisrequirement.
16 Western & Southwest Region
Increased unemployment coupled withfewer vacancies may be terrible news
for job seekers, but it gives employersa larger pool of candidates fromwhich to select employees. Whatoften happens in this situation isthat employers are able to attractcandidates with more experiencethan in a tight labor period. In July2001, 54% of the open positions
required either experience in a relat-ed field or in the specific occupation.
This summer that figure rose to 72%.
Experience in
this Occupation
36%
No Experience
Required
14%
General Work
Experience
14%
Experience in a
Related Field
36%
Figure 13:Vacancies by Experience
High School/GED
$0 $5 $10 $15 $20 $25
JVS Wage - Average Minimum / Average Maximum
$0 $5 $10 $15 $20 $25
Advanced Degree
Bachelor's Degree
No Diploma
Two-Year Degree
Vocational Training/ Certification
Figure 12: Average Wages by Education
Generally, the more education required for a posi-tion, the higher the wages offered. The Bureau ofLabor Statistics in its report on Usual Weekly Earningsof Wage and Salary Workers6 found that full-timeworkers age 25 and over without a high school diplo-ma had median weekly earnings of $386, comparedwith $536 for high school graduates and $940 for col-lege graduates. In this survey, positions requiring abachelor’s degree offered double the wages as posi-tions requiring a high school diploma/GED.
This common trend did not hold perfectly in thissurvey, however. Wages in the bachelor’s degree cate-gory are slightly higher than advanced degrees and
jobs requiring no diploma offer more than jobs requir-ing a diploma. What causes these irregularities?
In the no diploma category a large number ofConstruction and Extraction positions were reportedwith an average wage of over $18 an hour that broughtthe overall average wage up. While these positions didnot require a diploma they did require the highestlevel of experience.
The average wage for bachelor’s degrees is heavilyinfluenced by registered nurses who make up almosthalf of the vacancies found in the bachelor’s degreecategory. At an average wage of over $22 this occupa-tion has a large positive effect on the results.
61st Quarter, 2002.
17Job Vacancy Survey
No Experience General WorkExperience
Experience in aRelated Field
Experience in This Occupation
No Diploma 48% 16% 12% 24%
High School Diploma/GED 13% 31% 41% 15%
Vocational Training/Certification 3% 5% 33% 59%
Two-Year Degree 0% 0% 43% 57%
Bachelor’s Degree 3% 3% 52% 42%
Advanced Degree 0% 0% 7% 93%
Note: Percentages based on each educational category.
Table 2: Experience Requirements by Educational Level
Positions needing higher levels of experience gen-erally pay higher wages. In this survey vacanciesrequiring experience in a particular occupation offerwages twice as high as those requiring no experience.Firms offer experienced candidates better compensa-tion packages because experience usually increases aworker’s productivity.
The most frequently reported occupations in eachexperience category are: No Experience Required—Transportation and Material Moving; General WorkExperience—Office and Administrative Support;Experience in a Related Field—Healthcare Practitionerand Technical; and Experience in this Occupation—Healthcare Practitioner and Technical.
General Work Experience
$0 $5 $10 $15 $20 $25
JVS Wage - Average Minimum / Average Maximum
$0 $5 $10 $15 $20 $25
No Experience Required
Experience in a Related Field
Experience in This Occupation
Figure 14: Average Wages by Experience
An interesting relationship exists between the typeof education required to fill a position and the level ofexperience desired. In both the survey and in general,the higher the level of education demanded, the higherthe level of experience required as well. Internshipsand apprenticeships have gained importance and popu-larity in recent years, because to be competitive intoday’s job market students must obtain quality expe-rience along with academic knowledge.
Jobs that require no high school diploma are typi-cally low skill, entry-level jobs requiring little experi-ence. In the Western & Southwest Region, 93% ofjobs requiring an advanced degree require experiencein the specific occupation. Ninety-four percent of jobsrequiring a bachelor’s degree require at least experi-ence in a related field.
18 Western & Southwest Region
Vacancies: Difficulty to Fill
To estimate the level of difficulty in fillingvacancies, employers are asked about their per-ceived level of difficulty in filling vacancies
and the length of time that position has beenopen. If a large proportion of vacancies in aregion are difficult to fill, it may signal oneor a combination of the following:
• Too few specifically skilled work-ers to satisfy the labor demand.
• A need for alternate employerrecruitment efforts,
• A mismatch between jobs offeredand work desired by job seeker,and/or
• Unattractive compensation.
Employers are having less difficulty filling openpositions as compared to summer 2001. Thirty-threepercent of the vacancies were considered very difficultto fill in July 2001, while 13% are considered very diffi-cult to fill in this survey.
Transportation and Material Moving occupationswere most frequently found in the not difficult to fillcategory, while Education, Training, and Library occu-pations were most frequent in the somewhat difficult
to fill category. Not surprising, HealthcarePractitioners and Technical occupations dominated thevery difficult to fill category. The shortage of nurses inthe labor market is not only an issue in the Western &Southwest Region, but it is also an issue throughoutColorado and the nation as a whole.
In this survey, vacancies that are difficult to fill tendto offer higher wages. Vacancies that are very difficultto fill offer an average wage of $14.80 while positions
that are not difficult to fill offer an average wage of$11.80.
Not Difficult
$0 $5 $10 $15 $20 $25
JVS Wage - Average Minimum / Average Maximum
$0 $5 $10 $15 $20 $25
Somewhat Difficult
Very Difficult
Figure 16: Average Wages by Difficulty to Fill
Very Difficult
13%
Somewhat Difficult
44%
Not Difficult
43%
Figure 15:Vacancies by Difficulty to Fill
19Job Vacancy Survey
The survey found that positions open for longerperiods of time have a slightly higher associated wage.As higher wages usually accompany occupations that
require specialized skills, it may take an employerlonger to recruit and hire a candidate with the desiredbackground.
Always Hiring
$0 $5 $10 $15 $20 $25
JVS Wage - Average Minimum / Average Maximum
$0 $5 $10 $15 $20 $25
30 to 59 Days
60 or More Days
Less Than 30 Days
Figure 18: Average Wages by Time Open for Hire
How long a vacancy is open is indicative of thedegree of difficulty an employer is having in filling
the position. Factors include: the availability ofqualified candidates; competition among
employers for similar candidates; and thewillingness of candidates to accept job
duties considering wages and benefitsoffered. Also, employers may allowmore time to fill a vacancy in order toensure the fit of the candidate with theorganization, or because there may be alimited number of qualified applicants.
Another indication that the labor mar-ket has loosened is that 57% of vacancies
have been open for less than 30 days andonly 11% have been open for more than 60
days. In July 2001, 45% of the openings hadbeen open less than 30 days and 26% were open for
more than 60 days.
Always Hiring 6%
60 or More Days
11%
30 to 59 Days
26%
Less Than 30 Days
57%
Figure 17: Vacanciesby Time Open for Hire
20 Western & Southwest Region
Vacancies: Additional Compensation
Partial Cost of Premium
No Monetary ContributonTowards Premium
$0 $5 $10 $15 $20
JVS Wage - Average Minimum / Average Maximum$0 $5 $10 $15 $20
Total Cost of Premium
Figure 20: Average Wages by Employer’s Contribution to Medical Insurance
Medical Insurance
Employers frequently offer compensation relatedbenefits to recruit qualified candidates. Some of
these perks are paid time off, transportation or parkingvouchers and subsidized child-care. One of the mostimportant benefits offered to employees is medicalinsurance via an employer group plan. Employersmay pay all, part or none of the monthly insurancepremium. How can an employer offer medicalinsurance and not pay for it? While this scenario isuncommon, employers can and do offer employeesthe opportunity to participate in their group med-ical insurance plans even though they do not con-tribute to the premium.
Over 70% of the vacancies reported by employersinclude some form of medical insurance. Of these,employers offer to pay a part of the premium for thevast majority. Almost 20% of the vacancies includedpayment of the entire medical insurance premium.
No Monetary
Contribution Towards
Premium
1%
Partial Cost of
Premium
81%Total Cost of
Premium
18%
Figure 19:Vacancies by Employer’s
Contribution to Medical Insurance
Generally, positions paying a higher proportion ofmedical insurance premiums also pay higher wages.The higher the skill set demanded by employers thehigher the compensation level required to attract can-didates. Paying part or all of a medical insurance pre-mium is an important feature of that compensationpackage.
In this survey, however, there is a weak relationshipbetween wages and the proportion of premium paid.Registered nurses make up over half of all the vacan-cies offering to pay part of the premium. This occupa-tion positively influenced the average wage in thepartial-cost-of-premium category in Figure 20.
21Job Vacancy Survey
Employers are asked if they offer sign-on bonuses forthe positions for which they are recruiting. Sign-on
bonuses became popular lore in the late nineties due tothe tight labor market situation, but it is unclear whether
the actual size and frequency of sign-on bonusesdeserved the hype. Out of the 108 companies in thissurvey that reported vacancies, only three offered asign-on bonus for an average amount of $1,700. Asthe economy continues through the business cycleand the labor market once again tightens, it will beinteresting to see how popular sign-on bonuses
become as a means of attracting candidates.
Sign-On Bonus
No Sign-On Bonus
96%
Sign-On
Bonus
4%
Figure 21: Vacanciesby Sign-On Bonus
Occupations
In order to facilitate comparisons between the resultsof this survey and other sources of employment sta-tistics, all jobs reported are assigned a Standard
Occupational Classification (SOC) code from the 2000Standard Occupational Classification Manual. Not
surprisingly, the most frequently occurring job vacan-cies fall into occupational groups that are most oftenassociated with the largest industries in the region:Services, Retail Trade, and Construction.
0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30%
Farming, Fishing & Forestry
Computer & Mathematical
Architecture & Engineering
Legal
Life, Physical, & Social Science
Arts, Design, Entertainment, Sports, & Media
Production
Protective Service
Business & Financial Operations
Community & Social Services
Management
Installation, Maintenance, & Repair
Personal Care & Service
Building & Grounds Cleaning & Maintenance
Education, Training, & Library
Sales & Related
Healthcare Support
Transportation & Material Moving
Construction & Extraction
Food Preparation & Serving Related
Office & Administrative Support
Healthcare Practitioners & Technical
Figure 22: Vacancies by Major Occupational Groups
No vacancies reported in this survey.
No vacancies reported in this survey.
22 Western & Southwest Region
23Job Vacancy Survey
Installation, Maintenance & Repair
Healthcare Support
Construction & Extraction
Personal Care & Service
Office & Administrative Support
Building & Grounds Cleaning & Maintenance
Sales & Related
Transportation & Material Moving
Healthcare Practitioners & Technical
$5 $10 $15 $20 $25
Food Preparation & Serving Related
Production
Protective Service
Management
Education, Training & Library
JVS Wage - Average Minimum / Average Maximum$5 $10 $15 $20 $25
Arts, Design, Entertainment, Sports & Media
Legal
Life, Physical & Social Science
Computer & Mathematical
Business & Financial Operations
Farming, Fishing &Forestry
Architecture & Engineering
Community & Social Services
$30 $35
$30 $35
No vacancies reported in this survey.
No vacancies reported in this survey.
Figure 23: Average Wages by Major Occupational Group
The results of the survey show that the most fre-quently occurring job vacancies are not necessarilyoffered the highest wages. This indicates that com-pensation for workers can be explained by the inves-tigation of other vacancy characteristics.Occupations offering the lowest wage ranges also
tend to be occupations typically requiring lower lev-els of education and experience. Occupational groupsoffering the highest wage ranges in the survey are:Legal; Business and Financial Operations; andManagement. These high skill occupations typicallyrequire higher levels of education and experience.
24 Western & Southwest Region
SO
C
Co
de
SO
C O
ccu
pati
on
al T
itle
‡
Vac
ancy
Ran
k
Ave
rag
e
JVS
Wag
e
En
try-
Lev
el
Ove
rall
Exp
eri-
ence
d
10th
25th
50th
75th
90th
11
-00
00
Ma
na
ge
me
nt
Oc
cu
pa
tio
ns
$2
6.6
0$
14
.70
$2
7.1
2$
33
.33
$1
2.6
9$
17
.39
$2
3.8
5$
33
.08
$4
7.2
6
11
-10
11
Ch
ief
Exe
cu
tive
sL
†$
26
.55
$4
9.7
6$
61
.37
$2
3.9
0$
32
.04
$5
2.0
8$
71
.93
$7
4.5
6
11
-30
40
Hu
ma
n R
eso
urc
es M
an
ag
ers
L†
$1
5.5
1$
23
.90
$2
8.1
0$
13
.93
$1
7.5
0$
21
.42
$2
8.8
1$
38
.12
11
-90
32
Ed
uca
tio
n A
dm
inis
tra
tors
, E
lem
en
tary
an
d S
eco
nd
ary
Sch
oo
lL
$1
4.8
0$
44
,55
5$
60
,96
9$
69
,17
5$
39
,43
9$
50
,81
4$
62
,16
4$
71
,53
5$
84
,39
0
11
-90
33
Ed
uca
tio
n A
dm
inis
tra
tors
,
Po
sts
eco
nd
ary
L$
32
.50
$2
0.0
9$
30
.74
$3
6.0
7$
18
.68
$2
1.7
6$
29
.11
$3
9.8
7$
46
.31
*1
1-9
03
9
E
du
ca
tio
n A
dm
inis
tra
tors
, A
ll O
the
rL
$2
4.8
0†
††
††
††
†
11
-90
41
En
gin
ee
rin
g M
an
ag
ers
M$
31
.30
$2
3.1
2$
33
.30
$3
8.4
0$
21
.78
$2
4.9
3$
31
.79
$4
0.0
2$
44
.95
11
-91
11
Me
dic
al a
nd
He
alth
Se
rvic
es M
an
ag
ers
L$
25
.20
$1
8.3
4$
23
.81
$2
6.5
4$
16
.84
$2
0.2
5$
24
.07
$2
7.0
8$
31
.09
13
-00
00
Bu
sin
es
s a
nd
Fin
an
cia
l O
pe
rati
on
s
Oc
cu
pa
tio
ns
$2
8.0
0$
12
.68
$1
9.7
8$
23
.33
$1
1.1
5$
14
.38
$1
8.6
7$
23
.75
$2
9.9
1
13
-10
22
Wh
ole
sa
le a
nd
Re
tail
Bu
ye
rs,
Exce
pt
Fa
rm P
rod
ucts
L$
18
.00
$1
0.1
9$
13
.38
$1
4.9
7$
9.6
8$
10
.84
$1
2.9
2$
15
.02
$1
6.7
6
13
-20
11
Acco
un
tan
ts a
nd
Au
dito
rsM
$1
8.7
0$
13
.47
$2
0.5
8$
24
.13
$1
2.2
9$
15
.21
$1
9.8
7$
24
.73
$2
9.9
7
13
-20
72
Lo
an
Off
ice
rsM
$4
2.2
0$
17
.01
$2
6.8
6$
31
.78
$1
5.7
8$
19
.69
$2
5.1
7$
33
.98
$4
1.1
2
17
-00
00
Arc
hit
ec
ture
an
d E
ng
ine
eri
ng
Oc
cu
pa
tio
ns
$2
3.4
0$
15
.42
$2
3.5
7$
27
.64
$1
3.4
7$
17
.94
$2
1.6
4$
29
.09
$3
6.6
0
*1
7-2
19
9
E
ng
ine
ers
, A
ll O
the
rL
$2
3.4
0$
23
.15
$3
4.0
6$
39
.50
$2
1.2
7$
26
.41
$3
3.5
2$
41
.56
$4
9.1
8
19
-00
00
Lif
e,
Ph
ys
ica
l, a
nd
So
cia
l S
cie
nc
e
Oc
cu
pa
tio
ns
$2
0.2
0$
12
.67
$1
9.4
0$
22
.77
$1
1.2
8$
14
.21
$1
8.2
4$
24
.66
$2
8.5
1
19
-40
99
Life
, P
hysic
al, a
nd
So
cia
l S
cie
nce
Te
ch
nic
ian
s,
All
Oth
er
L$
20
.20
$1
3.3
9$
16
.87
$1
8.6
2$
12
.32
$1
4.0
6$
15
.77
$1
7.4
8$
25
.20
21
-00
00
Co
mm
un
ity
an
d S
oc
ial
Se
rvic
es
Oc
cu
pa
tio
ns
$1
5.0
0$
9.2
0$
14
.85
$1
7.6
8$
8.3
6$
10
.47
$1
4.0
2$
18
.28
$2
2.2
2
21
-10
21
Ch
ild,
Fa
mily
, a
nd
Sch
oo
l S
ocia
l
Wo
rke
rsM
$1
6.8
0$
10
.78
$1
2.9
5$
14
.05
$1
0.0
7$
11
.37
$1
2.8
2$
14
.27
$1
6.5
4
Occu
pati
on
al E
mp
loym
en
t S
tati
sti
cs W
ag
e D
ata
(2001)
Av
era
ge
Wa
ge
sP
erc
en
tile
Dis
trib
uti
on
Tabl
e 3:
Job
Vac
ancy
Sur
vey
Occ
upat
ions
with
OES
Wag
es
* O
ES w
ages
repo
rted
for C
olor
ado
stat
ewid
e†
No
wag
e da
ta a
vaila
ble
‡
L- l
owes
t 25%
of a
ctua
l res
pons
esM
- m
iddl
e 50
% o
f act
ual r
espo
nses
H -
high
est 2
5% o
f act
ual r
espo
nses
25Job Vacancy Survey
SO
C
Co
de
SO
C O
ccu
pati
on
al T
itle
‡
Vac
ancy
Ran
k
Ave
rag
e
JVS
Wag
e
En
try-
Lev
el
Ove
rall
Exp
eri-
ence
d
10th
25th
50th
75th
90th
Occu
pati
on
al E
mp
loym
en
t S
tati
sti
cs W
ag
e D
ata
(2001)
Av
era
ge
Wa
ge
sP
erc
en
tile
Dis
trib
uti
on
21
-10
22
Me
dic
al a
nd
Pu
blic
He
alth
So
cia
l
Wo
rke
rsL
†$
13
.79
$1
7.7
4$
19
.72
$1
2.0
0$
15
.28
$1
7.9
6$
20
.80
$2
2.5
1
*2
1-1
02
9
S
ocia
l W
ork
ers
, A
ll O
the
rM
$1
2.3
0†
††
††
††
†
23
-00
00
Le
ga
l O
cc
up
ati
on
s$
29
.00
$1
4.8
6$
19
.66
$2
2.0
7$
14
.48
$1
5.8
4$
18
.28
$2
1.2
1$
27
.73
23
-10
23
Ju
dg
es,
Ma
gis
tra
te J
ud
ge
s,
an
d
Ma
gis
tra
tes
L$
29
.00
$1
9.6
4$
47
.67
$6
1.6
8$
6.1
1$
39
.33
$5
9.6
0$
65
.88
$6
9.6
4
25
-00
00
Ed
uc
ati
on
, T
rain
ing
, a
nd
Lib
rary
Oc
cu
pa
tio
ns
$1
4.5
0$
9.9
0$
16
.29
$1
9.4
8$
8.5
1$
11
.56
$1
5.6
3$
20
.54
$2
5.8
2
25
-11
21
Art
, D
ram
a,
an
d M
usic
Te
ach
ers
,
Po
sts
eco
nd
ary
M$
13
.20
$3
2,7
80
$4
2,7
50
$4
7,7
35
$2
9,8
90
$3
6,6
60
$4
4,1
57
$5
1,3
39
$5
5,5
83
*2
5-1
19
9
P
osts
eco
nd
ary
Te
ach
ers
, A
ll O
the
rL
$1
8.0
0$
24
,45
4$
38
,53
9$
45
,57
6$
21
,55
8$
28
,69
9$
34
,08
6$
43
,48
0$
60
,86
5
25
-20
22
Mid
dle
Sch
oo
l T
ea
ch
ers
, E
xce
pt
Sp
ecia
l
an
d V
oca
tio
na
l E
du
ca
tio
nM
$1
5.6
0$
29
,20
4$
37
,15
8$
41
,13
5$
26
,78
3$
30
,73
8$
35
,63
9$
43
,15
8$
51
,29
9
25
-20
31
Se
co
nd
ary
Sch
oo
l T
ea
ch
ers
, E
xce
pt
Sp
ecia
l a
nd
Vo
ca
tio
na
l E
du
ca
tio
nH
$1
4.4
0$
29
,79
2$
40
,84
5$
46
,37
2$
27
,29
5$
31
,84
1$
37
,78
9$
48
,93
6$
60
,51
4
25
-20
42
Sp
ecia
l E
du
ca
tio
n T
ea
ch
ers
, M
idd
le
Sch
oo
lL
$1
2.8
0$
29
,40
3$
39
,98
4$
45
,27
5$
26
,89
5$
32
,09
4$
39
,86
7$
48
,08
1$
54
,87
4
25
-20
43
Sp
ecia
l E
du
ca
tio
n T
ea
ch
ers
, S
eco
nd
ary
Sch
oo
lL
$1
5.9
0$
30
,26
2$
34
,88
3$
37
,19
3$
28
,52
3$
30
,98
7$
34
,78
1$
39
,45
5$
43
,43
6
*2
5-3
09
9
T
ea
ch
er
an
d I
nstr
ucto
rs,
All
Oth
er
M$
18
.00
††
††
††
††
25
-90
41
Te
ach
er
Assis
tan
tsL
$8
.30
$1
5,9
78
$1
8,9
94
$2
0,5
01
$1
5,2
11
$1
6,4
30
$1
8,4
70
$2
1,3
59
$2
3,6
05
27
-00
00
Art
s,
De
sig
n,
En
tert
ain
me
nt,
Sp
ort
s,
an
d M
ed
ia O
cc
up
ati
on
s$
12
.90
$7
.99
$1
4.3
6$
17
.54
$7
.16
$9
.02
$1
1.8
3$
16
.56
$2
3.9
3
27
-20
22
Co
ach
es a
nd
Sco
uts
M$
13
.70
19
,54
62
9,3
84
34
,30
31
8,8
57
20
,71
42
7,0
28
36
,69
74
4,7
80
*2
7-3
02
2
R
ep
ort
ers
an
d C
orr
esp
on
de
nts
L$
11
.10
††
††
††
††
Tabl
e 3:
Job
Vac
ancy
Sur
vey
Occ
upat
ions
with
OES
Wag
es —
Page
2
* O
ES w
ages
repo
rted
for C
olor
ado
stat
ewid
e†
No
wag
e da
ta a
vaila
ble
‡
L- l
owes
t 25%
of a
ctua
l res
pons
esM
- m
iddl
e 50
% o
f act
ual r
espo
nses
H -
high
est 2
5% o
f act
ual r
espo
nses
26 Western & Southwest Region
SO
C
Co
de
SO
C O
ccu
pati
on
al T
itle
‡
Vac
ancy
Ran
k
Ave
rag
e
JVS
Wag
e
En
try-
Lev
el
Ove
rall
Exp
eri-
ence
d
10th
25th
50th
75th
90th
Occu
pati
on
al E
mp
loym
en
t S
tati
sti
cs W
ag
e D
ata
(2001)
Av
era
ge
Wa
ge
sP
erc
en
tile
Dis
trib
uti
on
*2
7-3
04
2
T
ech
nic
al W
rite
rsL
†$
17
.12
$2
3.7
1$
27
.01
$1
5.6
8$
18
.90
$2
3.6
8$
27
.63
$3
2.5
5
29
-00
00
He
alt
hc
are
Pra
cti
tio
ne
rs a
nd
Te
ch
nic
al
Oc
cu
pa
tio
ns
$1
9.7
0$
11
.87
$2
0.1
5$
24
.29
$1
0.1
9$
14
.07
$1
9.3
6$
23
.89
$3
0.2
3
29
-10
31
Die
titia
ns a
nd
Nu
tritio
nis
tsM
$1
7.9
0$
12
.40
$1
6.1
5$
18
.03
$1
1.8
8$
13
.10
$1
6.0
0$
19
.10
$2
1.3
0
*2
9-1
07
1
P
hysic
ian
Assis
tan
tsL
$2
9.5
0$
22
.33
$2
9.1
5$
32
.56
$2
0.6
9$
24
.49
$2
8.9
1$
34
.40
$3
9.6
0
29
-11
11
Re
gis
tere
d N
urs
es
H$
20
.80
$1
7.1
7$
20
.88
$2
2.7
4$
15
.95
$1
8.5
1$
20
.63
$2
3.4
9$
27
.28
29
-11
22
Occu
pa
tio
na
l T
he
rap
ists
L$
22
.60
$2
0.3
0$
24
.60
$2
6.7
4$
18
.96
$2
2.0
7$
24
.57
$2
7.0
8$
30
.68
29
-11
23
Ph
ysic
al T
he
rap
ists
M$
20
.50
$2
1.6
0$
24
.99
$2
6.6
8$
19
.82
$2
2.7
6$
25
.20
$2
7.6
3$
31
.25
29
-11
26
Re
sp
ira
tory
Th
era
pis
tsH
$1
6.7
0$
15
.36
$1
7.9
3$
19
.22
$1
4.6
3$
15
.97
$1
8.1
6$
20
.29
$2
1.5
6
*2
9-2
01
1
M
ed
ica
l a
nd
Clin
ica
l L
ab
ora
tory
Te
ch
no
log
ists
M$
18
.40
$1
6.7
0$
20
.49
$2
2.3
8$
15
.21
$1
8.0
9$
20
.32
$2
2.5
9$
26
.64
*2
9-2
01
2
M
ed
ica
l a
nd
Clin
ica
l L
ab
ora
tory
Te
ch
nic
ian
sL
$8
.70
$1
0.6
5$
14
.73
$1
6.7
6$
9.9
0$
11
.48
$1
3.9
7$
17
.51
$2
0.9
0
29
-20
32
Dia
gn
ostic M
ed
ica
l S
on
og
rap
he
rsM
$2
0.7
0$
17
.83
$2
2.0
5$
24
.15
$1
6.4
7$
18
.80
$2
2.8
9$
25
.70
$2
7.3
8
29
-20
34
Ra
dio
log
ic T
ech
no
log
ists
an
d
Te
ch
nic
ian
sH
$1
8.8
0$
15
.19
$1
8.6
2$
20
.33
$1
4.5
4$
16
.25
$1
8.6
7$
21
.00
$2
2.9
9
29
-20
61
Lic
en
se
d P
ractica
l a
nd
Lic
en
se
d
Vo
ca
tio
na
l N
urs
es
H$
13
.00
$1
0.3
6$
13
.04
$1
4.3
8$
9.8
0$
11
.01
$1
2.6
3$
14
.50
$1
7.1
0
29
-20
71
Me
dic
al R
eco
rds a
nd
He
alth
In
form
atio
n
Te
ch
nic
ian
sM
$1
6.6
0$
7.8
5$
9.8
5$
10
.85
$7
.41
$8
.04
$9
.45
$1
1.3
7$
13
.06
31
-00
00
He
alt
hc
are
Su
pp
ort
Oc
cu
pa
tio
ns
$9
.80
$6
.68
$9
.15
$1
0.3
9$
6.1
4$
7.2
0$
8.3
2$
9.9
5$
11
.58
31
-10
12
Nu
rsin
g A
ide
s,
Ord
erlie
s,
an
d A
tte
nd
an
tsH
$9
.60
$7
.70
$8
.71
$9
.23
$7
.29
$7
.79
$8
.62
$9
.80
$1
0.7
0
31
-20
21
Ph
ysic
al T
he
rap
ist
Assis
tan
tsM
$1
0.5
0$
7.8
0$
9.1
9$
9.9
0$
7.1
6$
7.5
2$
8.1
2$
8.7
2$
13
.87
31
-90
93
Me
dic
al E
qu
ipm
en
t P
rep
are
rsL
$9
.90
$9
.10
$1
0.4
9$
11
.19
$8
.31
$9
.42
$1
0.5
1$
11
.80
$1
3.1
0
Tabl
e 3:
Job
Vac
ancy
Sur
vey
Occ
upat
ions
with
OES
Wag
es —
Page
3
* O
ES w
ages
repo
rted
for C
olor
ado
stat
ewid
e†
No
wag
e da
ta a
vaila
ble
‡
L- l
owes
t 25%
of a
ctua
l res
pons
esM
- m
iddl
e 50
% o
f act
ual r
espo
nses
H -
high
est 2
5% o
f act
ual r
espo
nses
27Job Vacancy Survey
SO
C
Co
de
SO
C O
ccu
pati
on
al T
itle
‡
Vac
ancy
Ran
k
Ave
rag
e
JVS
Wag
e
En
try-
Lev
el
Ove
rall
Exp
eri-
ence
d
10th
25th
50th
75th
90th
Occu
pati
on
al E
mp
loym
en
t S
tati
sti
cs W
ag
e D
ata
(2001)
Av
era
ge
Wa
ge
sP
erc
en
tile
Dis
trib
uti
on
31
-90
94
Me
dic
al T
ran
scrip
tio
nis
tsM
$1
1.5
0$
11
.23
$1
2.5
7$
13
.23
$1
0.5
0$
11
.49
$1
2.4
6$
13
.44
$1
4.6
6
33
-00
00
Pro
tec
tiv
e S
erv
ice
Oc
cu
pa
tio
ns
$1
3.3
0$
10
.13
$1
5.3
0$
17
.89
$8
.76
$1
1.9
6$
14
.74
$1
7.7
4$
22
.40
33
-20
11
Fire
Fig
hte
rsL
$1
9.9
0$
15
.17
$1
7.6
6$
18
.90
$1
4.2
1$
15
.04
$1
6.3
8$
19
.31
$2
5.3
2
33
-30
51
Po
lice
an
d S
he
riff
's P
atr
ol O
ffic
ers
L$
14
.70
$1
3.5
2$
16
.43
$1
7.8
9$
12
.58
$1
4.1
4$
16
.06
$1
8.5
0$
21
.26
33
-90
32
Se
cu
rity
Gu
ard
sM
$9
.40
$6
.56
$9
.31
$1
0.6
8$
6.1
6$
7.1
3$
9.2
2$
10
.88
$1
3.0
6
35
-00
00
Fo
od
Pre
pa
rati
on
an
d S
erv
ing
-
Re
late
d O
cc
up
ati
on
s$
6.9
0$
6.0
0$
7.8
8$
8.8
3$
5.6
4$
6.1
3$
6.9
3$
9.0
4$
11
.95
35
-20
12
Co
oks,
Institu
tio
n a
nd
Ca
fete
ria
M$
8.9
0$
6.7
3$
8.5
3$
9.4
2$
6.2
8$
7.1
4$
8.0
9$
9.6
5$
11
.94
35
-20
14
Co
oks,
Re
sta
ura
nt
H$
10
.40
$7
.03
$9
.17
$1
0.2
5$
6.5
3$
7.6
2$
9.2
5$
10
.65
$1
2.1
4
35
-30
11
Ba
rte
nd
ers
L$
6.0
0$
6.0
3$
8.3
4$
9.4
9$
5.7
7$
6.3
6$
7.5
0$
11
.07
$1
2.8
6
35
-30
21
Co
mb
ine
d F
oo
d P
rep
ara
tio
n a
nd
Se
rvin
g
Wo
rke
rs,
Inclu
din
g F
ast
Fo
od
H$
6.3
0$
6.0
0$
6.2
7$
6.4
1$
5.5
2$
5.8
1$
6.2
7$
6.7
4$
7.4
9
35
-30
31
Wa
ite
rs a
nd
Wa
itre
sse
sH
$5
.20
$5
.98
$8
.35
$9
.53
$5
.61
$6
.09
$6
.87
$1
0.4
4$
13
.26
35
-90
11
Din
ing
Ro
om
an
d C
afe
teria
Att
en
da
nts
an
d B
art
en
de
r H
elp
ers
H$
6.9
0$
6.0
0$
8.6
0$
9.9
0$
5.6
6$
6.1
8$
7.5
8$
11
.19
$1
2.9
0
35
-90
21
Dis
hw
ash
ers
M$
6.2
0$
5.9
9$
6.6
3$
6.9
6$
5.5
4$
5.8
8$
6.4
7$
7.3
5$
8.4
7
35
-90
31
Ho
sts
an
d H
oste
sse
s,
Re
sta
ura
nt,
Lo
un
ge
, a
nd
Co
ffe
e S
ho
pL
†$
5.9
8$
7.3
5$
8.0
4$
5.7
2$
6.3
6$
7.4
0$
8.2
8$
9.0
3
37
-00
00
Bu
ild
ing
an
d G
rou
nd
s C
lea
nin
g a
nd
Ma
inte
na
nc
e O
cc
up
ati
on
s$
9.0
0$
6.6
9$
9.2
5$
10
.52
$6
.13
$7
.18
$8
.52
$1
0.8
1$
13
.47
37
-10
11
First-
Lin
e S
up
erv
iso
rs/M
an
ag
ers
of
Ho
use
ke
ep
ing
an
d J
an
ito
ria
l W
ork
ers
L$
10
.90
$8
.29
$1
1.6
8$
13
.36
$7
.66
$8
.72
$1
0.2
7$
14
.64
$1
7.0
6
37
-20
11
Ja
nito
rs a
nd
Cle
an
ers
, E
xce
pt
Ma
ids a
nd
Ho
use
ke
ep
ing
Cle
an
ers
H$
9.9
0$
6.7
6$
9.2
5$
10
.48
$6
.20
$7
.35
$9
.12
$1
0.8
2$
12
.87
37
-20
12
Ma
ids a
nd
Ho
use
ke
ep
ing
Cle
an
ers
H$
8.2
0$
6.3
3$
8.0
4$
8.8
9$
5.9
3$
6.8
3$
7.7
7$
8.6
6$
10
.69
Tabl
e 3:
Job
Vac
ancy
Sur
vey
Occ
upat
ions
with
OES
Wag
es —
Page
4
* O
ES w
ages
repo
rted
for C
olor
ado
stat
ewid
e†
No
wag
e da
ta a
vaila
ble
‡
L- l
owes
t 25%
of a
ctua
l res
pons
esM
- m
iddl
e 50
% o
f act
ual r
espo
nses
H -
high
est 2
5% o
f act
ual r
espo
nses
28 Western & Southwest Region
SO
C
Co
de
SO
C O
ccu
pati
on
al T
itle
‡
Vac
ancy
Ran
k
Ave
rag
e
JVS
Wag
e
En
try-
Lev
el
Ove
rall
Exp
eri-
ence
d
10th
25th
50th
75th
90th
Occu
pati
on
al E
mp
loym
en
t S
tati
sti
cs W
ag
e D
ata
(2001)
Av
era
ge
Wa
ge
sP
erc
en
tile
Dis
trib
uti
on
39
-00
00
Pe
rso
na
l C
are
an
d S
erv
ice
Oc
cu
pa
tio
ns
$1
0.4
0$
6.4
2$
9.4
4$
10
.95
$6
.03
$6
.97
$8
.56
$1
0.9
4$
13
.97
*3
9-1
01
1
G
am
ing
Su
pe
rvis
ors
L$
17
.00
$1
3.7
8$
19
.52
$2
2.3
9$
12
.53
$1
5.8
2$
19
.47
$2
3.1
1$
27
.10
39
-10
21
First-
Lin
e S
up
erv
iso
rs/M
an
ag
ers
of
Pe
rso
na
l S
erv
ice
Wo
rke
rsL
†$
9.3
8$
10
.97
$1
1.7
7$
8.9
3$
9.4
8$
10
.40
$1
2.0
0$
14
.08
39
-30
93
Lo
cke
r R
oo
m,
Co
atr
oo
m,
an
d D
ressin
g
Ro
om
Att
en
da
nts
M$
10
.30
$7
.69
$9
.14
$9
.87
$7
.25
$7
.72
$8
.49
$9
.97
$1
2.8
7
39
-60
11
Ba
gg
ag
e P
ort
ers
an
d B
ellh
op
sL
$1
2.0
0$
6.0
1$
8.7
0$
10
.05
$5
.74
$6
.33
$8
.77
$1
0.1
2$
10
.94
39
-60
12
Co
ncie
rge
sM
$8
.80
$9
.53
$1
2.1
9$
13
.52
$9
.08
$1
0.0
3$
11
.91
$1
4.5
7$
16
.30
39
-90
32
Re
cre
atio
n W
ork
ers
M$
8.0
0$
9.8
1$
13
.26
$1
4.9
9$
9.2
9$
10
.79
$1
2.7
6$
15
.74
$1
9.1
3
41
-00
00
Sa
les
an
d R
ela
ted
Oc
cu
pa
tio
ns
$9
.70
$6
.17
$1
0.8
9$
13
.25
$5
.84
$6
.68
$8
.45
$1
1.6
8$
17
.18
41
-10
11
First-
Lin
e S
up
erv
iso
rs/M
an
ag
ers
of
Re
tail
Sa
les W
ork
ers
L†
$7
.85
$1
3.0
8$
15
.69
$6
.28
$9
.72
$1
2.1
1$
14
.48
$1
9.9
6
41
-20
11
Ca
sh
iers
H$
6.4
0$
5.9
3$
8.0
8$
9.1
5$
5.6
0$
6.1
2$
7.1
2$
8.9
4$
13
.67
*4
1-2
01
2
G
am
ing
Ch
an
ge
Pe
rso
ns a
nd
Bo
oth
Ca
sh
iers
M$
10
.10
$6
.87
$9
.66
$1
1.0
5$
6.2
7$
7.5
1$
9.3
7$
11
.29
$1
3.7
8
41
-20
31
Re
tail
Sa
lesp
ers
on
sH
$7
.70
$6
.53
$8
.78
$9
.89
$6
.03
$7
.02
$8
.10
$9
.75
$1
1.8
8
*4
1-3
02
1
In
su
ran
ce
Sa
les A
ge
nts
L$
11
.50
$1
6.5
7$
27
.31
$3
2.6
6$
13
.99
$1
9.7
5$
25
.60
$3
2.4
6$
38
.12
41
-90
22
Re
al E
sta
te S
ale
s A
ge
nts
M$
12
.00
$1
2.2
3$
17
.92
$2
0.7
6$
11
.46
$1
2.2
5$
13
.57
$2
4.5
4$
26
.51
*4
1-9
03
1
S
ale
s E
ng
ine
ers
L$
28
.80
$2
0.3
2$
31
.74
$3
7.4
6$
18
.13
$2
3.3
5$
30
.36
$3
7.7
4$
50
.71
43
-00
00
Off
ice
an
d A
dm
inis
tra
tiv
e S
up
po
rt
Oc
cu
pa
tio
ns
$1
1.7
0$
8.0
2$
11
.73
$1
3.5
8$
7.1
8$
9.0
0$
10
.75
$1
3.8
0$
17
.91
43
-10
11
First-
Lin
e S
up
erv
iso
rs/M
an
ag
ers
of
Off
ice
an
d A
dm
inis
tra
tive
Su
pp
ort
Wo
rke
rs
M$
23
.30
$1
0.7
2$
16
.46
$1
9.3
4$
9.8
0$
12
.25
$1
6.0
9$
19
.72
$2
2.2
3
Tabl
e 3:
Job
Vac
ancy
Sur
vey
Occ
upat
ions
with
OES
Wag
es —
Page
5
* O
ES w
ages
repo
rted
for C
olor
ado
stat
ewid
e†
No
wag
e da
ta a
vaila
ble
‡
L- l
owes
t 25%
of a
ctua
l res
pons
esM
- m
iddl
e 50
% o
f act
ual r
espo
nses
H -
high
est 2
5% o
f act
ual r
espo
nses
29Job Vacancy Survey
SO
C
Co
de
SO
C O
ccu
pati
on
al T
itle
‡
Vac
ancy
Ran
k
Ave
rag
e
JVS
Wag
e
En
try-
Lev
el
Ove
rall
Exp
eri-
ence
d
10th
25th
50th
75th
90th
Occu
pati
on
al E
mp
loym
en
t S
tati
sti
cs W
ag
e D
ata
(2001)
Av
era
ge
Wa
ge
sP
erc
en
tile
Dis
trib
uti
on
43
-30
11
Bill
an
d A
cco
un
t C
olle
cto
rsM
$1
0.4
0$
10
.47
$1
5.0
2$
17
.30
$9
.26
$1
1.7
7$
14
.38
$1
8.2
9$
21
.64
43
-30
31
Bo
okke
ep
ing
, A
cco
un
tin
g,
an
d A
ud
itin
g
Cle
rks
M$
12
.00
$9
.34
$1
2.8
1$
14
.54
$9
.10
$1
0.3
8$
12
.25
$1
4.4
6$
18
.02
43
-30
71
Te
llers
L$
8.0
0$
8.1
7$
10
.50
$1
1.6
6$
7.4
5$
8.9
3$
10
.46
$1
2.3
0$
13
.63
43
-40
31
Co
urt
, M
un
icip
al, a
nd
Lic
en
se
Cle
rks
H$
14
.50
$1
0.2
9$
13
.48
$1
5.0
7$
9.8
2$
11
.17
$1
2.7
8$
15
.12
$1
7.2
6
43
-40
71
File
Cle
rks
M$
9.0
0$
6.2
2$
8.3
8$
9.4
6$
5.8
9$
6.7
1$
8.6
1$
9.9
8$
10
.86
43
-40
81
Ho
tel, M
ote
l, a
nd
Re
so
rt D
esk C
lerk
sH
$8
.20
$7
.10
$8
.73
$9
.54
$6
.53
$7
.53
$8
.75
$1
0.0
7$
10
.86
43
-41
31
Lo
an
In
terv
iew
ers
an
d C
lerk
sL
†$
7.9
2$
10
.19
$1
1.3
3$
7.5
4$
8.3
8$
9.9
7$
11
.93
$1
3.3
5
*4
3-4
14
1
N
ew
Acco
un
ts C
lerk
sL
†$
9.5
8$
11
.52
$1
2.4
9$
9.1
3$
10
.11
$1
1.6
8$
13
.06
$1
3.9
0
43
-41
61
Hu
ma
n R
eso
urc
es A
ssis
tan
ts,
Exce
pt
Pa
yro
ll a
nd
Tim
eke
ep
ing
L†
$1
0.1
7$
14
.67
$1
6.9
3$
9.3
4$
11
.27
$1
4.1
5$
16
.96
$2
1.9
6
43
-41
71
Re
ce
ptio
nis
ts a
nd
In
form
atio
n C
lerk
sH
$9
.30
$7
.92
$9
.56
$1
0.3
9$
6.8
9$
8.8
9$
9.7
4$
10
.61
$1
1.1
2
43
-50
81
Sto
ck C
lerk
s a
nd
Ord
er
Fill
ers
L$
9.6
0$
6.7
3$
10
.34
$1
2.1
4$
6.1
4$
7.3
3$
8.9
1$
12
.15
$1
8.2
4
43
-60
13
Me
dic
al S
ecre
tarie
sM
†$
8.7
2$
9.8
8$
10
.47
$7
.97
$9
.02
$9
.84
$1
0.6
2$
11
.08
43
-60
14
Se
cre
tarie
s,
Exce
pt
Le
ga
l, M
ed
ica
l, a
nd
Exe
cu
tive
H$
12
.10
$8
.63
$1
1.2
8$
12
.60
$7
.87
$9
.27
$1
0.5
8$
12
.90
$1
5.9
2
43
-90
21
Da
ta E
ntr
y K
eye
rsL
$9
.40
$9
.38
$1
1.6
6$
12
.80
$9
.21
$1
0.2
0$
11
.59
$1
3.2
3$
15
.03
*4
3-9
03
1
D
eskto
p P
ub
lish
ers
L$
7.5
0$
12
.19
$1
7.1
0$
19
.55
$1
1.7
8$
13
.80
$1
7.1
0$
20
.59
$2
3.1
2
47
-00
00
Co
ns
tru
cti
on
an
d E
xtr
ac
tio
n
Oc
cu
pa
tio
ns
$1
5.6
0$
10
.33
$1
6.3
7$
19
.39
$9
.40
$1
1.4
9$
15
.02
$2
0.2
1$
24
.76
47
-10
11
First-
Lin
e S
up
erv
iso
rs/M
an
ag
ers
of
Co
nstr
uctio
n T
rad
es a
nd
Extr
actio
n
Wo
rke
rs
L$
10
.50
$1
5.1
3$
23
.64
$2
7.9
0$
14
.76
$1
6.5
0$
20
.93
$2
7.0
2$
41
.20
47
-20
31
Ca
rpe
nte
rsM
$2
0.0
0$
16
.15
$2
0.7
7$
23
.08
$1
4.3
3$
17
.90
$2
0.1
8$
22
.67
$2
8.9
8
Tabl
e 3:
Job
Vac
ancy
Sur
vey
Occ
upat
ions
with
OES
Wag
es —
Page
6
* O
ES w
ages
repo
rted
for C
olor
ado
stat
ewid
e†
No
wag
e da
ta a
vaila
ble
‡
L- l
owes
t 25%
of a
ctua
l res
pons
esM
- m
iddl
e 50
% o
f act
ual r
espo
nses
H -
high
est 2
5% o
f act
ual r
espo
nses
30 Western & Southwest Region
SO
C
Co
de
SO
C O
ccu
pati
on
al T
itle
‡
Vac
ancy
Ran
k
Ave
rag
e
JVS
Wag
e
En
try-
Lev
el
Ove
rall
Exp
eri-
ence
d
10th
25th
50th
75th
90th
Occu
pati
on
al E
mp
loym
en
t S
tati
sti
cs W
ag
e D
ata
(2001)
Av
era
ge
Wa
ge
sP
erc
en
tile
Dis
trib
uti
on
47
-20
51
Ce
me
nt
Ma
so
ns a
nd
Co
ncre
te F
inis
he
rsL
$1
3.5
0$
10
.04
$1
2.3
1$
13
.45
$9
.56
$1
0.6
7$
12
.07
$1
3.3
4$
15
.48
47
-20
61
Co
nstr
uctio
n L
ab
ore
rsH
$1
2.0
0$
8.3
8$
11
.32
$1
2.7
9$
7.7
5$
9.1
0$
11
.04
$1
2.9
6$
14
.17
47
-20
73
Op
era
tin
g E
ng
ine
ers
an
d O
the
r
Co
nstr
uctio
n E
qu
ipm
en
t O
pe
rato
rsM
$1
4.0
0$
12
.98
$1
6.8
8$
18
.84
$1
2.1
4$
13
.70
$1
6.3
2$
19
.62
$2
3.4
3
47
-21
52
Plu
mb
ers
, P
ipe
fitt
ers
, a
nd
Ste
am
fitt
ers
L$
15
.00
$1
2.3
6$
19
.18
$2
2.5
9$
11
.35
$1
4.3
4$
18
.83
$2
2.1
3$
27
.94
47
-30
12
He
lpe
rs--
Ca
rpe
nte
rsL
†$
8.9
5$
10
.68
$1
1.5
4$
8.2
1$
9.4
1$
10
.68
$1
2.2
5$
13
.61
47
-40
51
Hig
hw
ay M
ain
ten
an
ce
Wo
rke
rsH
$1
6.0
0$
11
.62
$1
8.0
4$
21
.24
$1
0.8
4$
12
.38
$1
5.0
4$
25
.34
$2
8.4
4
*4
7-5
04
9
M
inin
g M
ach
ine
Op
era
tors
, A
ll O
the
rH
$1
8.1
0†
††
††
††
†
49
-00
00
Ins
tall
ati
on
, M
ain
ten
an
ce
, a
nd
Re
pa
ir
Oc
cu
pa
tio
ns
$1
2.0
0$
8.7
0$
15
.36
$1
8.6
9$
7.8
3$
9.9
1$
14
.42
$1
9.7
6$
24
.55
49
-30
42
Mo
bile
He
avy E
qu
ipm
en
t M
ech
an
ics,
Exce
pt
En
gin
es
L†
$1
0.4
7$
15
.08
$1
7.4
0$
9.9
2$
11
.15
$1
5.1
2$
18
.57
$2
1.0
6
49
-90
21
He
atin
g,
Air C
on
ditio
nin
g,
an
d
Re
frig
era
tio
n M
ech
an
ics a
nd
In
sta
llers
M$
17
.50
$1
3.5
1$
17
.92
$2
0.1
4$
12
.69
$1
4.2
8$
18
.64
$2
0.8
7$
22
.21
49
-90
42
Ma
inte
na
nce
an
d R
ep
air W
ork
ers
,
Ge
ne
ral
H$
8.3
0$
7.7
8$
12
.67
$1
5.1
1$
7.4
4$
8.2
2$
11
.64
$1
7.0
5$
20
.43
51
-00
00
Pro
du
cti
on
Oc
cu
pa
tio
ns
$1
2.4
0$
7.0
7$
11
.82
$1
4.2
0$
6.4
9$
7.9
5$
10
.25
$1
4.2
4$
19
.79
51
-60
11
La
un
dry
an
d D
ry-C
lea
nin
g W
ork
ers
L†
$6
.06
$7
.56
$8
.32
$5
.84
$6
.50
$7
.60
$8
.62
$9
.90
51
-60
31
Se
win
g M
ach
ine
Op
era
tors
M$
9.9
0$
6.1
7$
7.7
2$
8.5
0$
5.8
5$
6.6
7$
7.6
0$
8.3
9$
9.5
8
*5
1-6
09
3
U
ph
ols
tere
rsL
†$
9.8
7$
12
.56
$1
3.9
2$
9.3
9$
10
.27
$1
1.9
8$
14
.03
$1
7.1
0
51
-80
31
Wa
ter
an
d L
iqu
id W
aste
Tre
atm
en
t P
lan
t
an
d S
yste
m O
pe
rato
rsL
$1
7.5
0$
12
.77
$1
7.6
5$
20
.08
$1
1.1
3$
14
.89
$1
8.3
4$
20
.97
$2
3.0
1
Tabl
e 3:
Job
Vac
ancy
Sur
vey
Occ
upat
ions
with
OES
Wag
es —
Page
7
* O
ES w
ages
repo
rted
for C
olor
ado
stat
ewid
e†
No
wag
e da
ta a
vaila
ble
‡
L- l
owes
t 25%
of a
ctua
l res
pons
esM
- m
iddl
e 50
% o
f act
ual r
espo
nses
H -
high
est 2
5% o
f act
ual r
espo
nses
31Job Vacancy Survey
SO
C
Co
de
SO
C O
ccu
pati
on
al T
itle
‡
Vac
ancy
Ran
k
Ave
rag
e
JVS
Wag
e
En
try-
Lev
el
Ove
rall
Exp
eri-
ence
d
10th
25th
50th
75th
90th
Occu
pati
on
al E
mp
loym
en
t S
tati
sti
cs W
ag
e D
ata
(2001)
Av
era
ge
Wa
ge
sP
erc
en
tile
Dis
trib
uti
on
53
-00
00
Tra
ns
po
rta
tio
n a
nd
Ma
teri
al
Mo
vin
g
Oc
cu
pa
tio
ns
$8
.20
$7
.68
$1
1.7
2$
13
.73
$6
.86
$8
.71
$1
0.9
0$
13
.56
$1
7.4
9
*5
3-3
01
1
A
mb
ula
nce
Drive
rs a
nd
Att
en
da
nts
,
Exce
pt
Em
erg
en
cy M
ed
ica
l T
ech
nic
ian
sL
$1
0.4
0$
7.8
0$
10
.81
$1
2.3
2$
7.4
9$
8.4
3$
10
.23
$1
2.5
8$
14
.03
53
-30
22
Bu
s D
rive
rs,
Sch
oo
lH
$7
.70
$8
.96
$1
0.1
5$
10
.75
$8
.18
$9
.19
$1
0.0
7$
10
.96
$1
2.7
7
53
-30
32
Tru
ck D
rive
rs,
He
avy a
nd
Tra
cto
r-T
raile
rH
$1
2.3
0$
10
.73
$1
3.8
7$
15
.43
$9
.89
$1
1.6
0$
13
.29
$1
5.9
2$
17
.96
53
-30
33
Tru
ck D
rive
rs,
Lig
ht
or
De
live
ry S
erv
ice
sM
$7
.50
$9
.33
$1
3.5
8$
15
.71
$8
.75
$1
0.0
8$
12
.08
$1
4.5
0$
24
.36
53
-70
51
Ind
ustr
ial T
ruck a
nd
Tra
cto
r O
pe
rato
rsL
$7
.30
$7
.87
$1
0.4
7$
11
.76
$7
.07
$8
.88
$1
0.0
9$
11
.25
$1
4.1
9
53
-70
61
Cle
an
ers
of
Ve
hic
les a
nd
Eq
uip
me
nt
L$
8.0
0$
7.2
4$
8.6
9$
9.4
2$
6.7
2$
7.4
7$
8.2
0$
9.1
8$
12
.20
53
-70
62
La
bo
rers
an
d F
reig
ht,
Sto
ck,
an
d
Ma
teria
l M
ove
rs,
Ha
nd
M$
6.5
0$
6.5
8$
9.3
4$
10
.72
$6
.16
$7
.15
$9
.29
$1
0.9
9$
13
.02
53
-70
64
Pa
cke
rs a
nd
Pa
cka
ge
rs,
Ha
nd
H$
7.8
0$
6.1
2$
7.5
1$
8.2
0$
5.8
7$
6.4
8$
7.3
4$
8.3
2$
9.6
8
Tabl
e 3:
Job
Vac
ancy
Sur
vey
Occ
upat
ions
with
OES
Wag
es —
Page
8
* O
ES w
ages
repo
rted
for C
olor
ado
stat
ewid
e†
No
wag
e da
ta a
vaila
ble
‡
L- l
owes
t 25%
of a
ctua
l res
pons
esM
- m
iddl
e 50
% o
f act
ual r
espo
nses
H -
high
est 2
5% o
f act
ual r
espo
nses
32 Western & Southwest Region
Many challenges exist in collecting and analyz-ing the data for the Job Vacancy Survey.Because methods selected to carry out a sur-
vey impact the final results, great effort is put into
making this survey statistically viable and, mostimportantly, accurate. Methods used in this survey willcontinue to be reviewed and, where statistical viabilityand accuracy can be improved, modified.
Our professional survey unit developed theComputer Assisted Telephone Interview (CATI)
to maximize accuracy and usefulness, while mini-mizing length and survey bias. In accordance with
recognized survey research standards, the followingselection of questions are taken directly from thephone interview script.
In General1. How many employees do you have working
within the region?
2. Do you have any job vacancies for which yourfirm is actively recruiting?
3. How many job vacancies is your firm recruit-ing to fill?
For Each Vacancy1. What is the job title?
2. Briefly, what are the job duties?
3. Which of the following best describes thisvacancy?� Full-time/Permanent� Full-time/Temporary� Part-time/Permanent� Part-time/Temporary
4. What is the maximum wage offered for thisvacancy?
5. What is the minimum wage offered for thisvacancy?
6. Is a sign-on bonus offered? If yes, how much?
7. Is medical insurance offered?
8. If yes, does your firm pay the total cost of thepremium, partial cost of the premium or do youmake no contribution at all to the premium?
9. Which of the following best describes theeducation level required to fill this vacancy?� No diploma required� High School or GED diploma� Two-year degree� Bachelor’s degree� Advanced degree
10. What best describes the type of experiencerequired to qualify for this vacancy?� No experience is required� General work experience� Experience in a related field� Experience in this occupation
11. How long has this vacancy been open?� Less than 30 days� 30 to 59 days� 60 or more days� Always hiring for this position
12. How difficult is this vacancy to fill?� Not difficult� Somewhat difficult� Very difficult to fill
Methodology
Computer Assisted Telephone Interview
33Job Vacancy Survey
Survey Sample Methodology
This survey is designed to estimate the number ofvacancies in the region and to provide detailed
vacancy characteristics. Employers with at least fiveemployees are placed into either government or pri-vate industry categories. Firms with fewer than fiveemployees make up a very large portion of all employ-ers in the region, but a small proportion of totalemployment. The possibility of employing statisticalmethods to estimate vacancies for this group is cur-rently being explored.
Private firms are grouped by employment level intoeither large or small to mid-size categories. Attemptsare made to contact each large private employer andgovernment agency in the region. Small to mid-sizefirms are further divided by major industry and ran-domly sampled until a representative response isobtained for each category.
The original list of private industry firms used forthe survey, along with their contact information, staffsize and industry classification is obtained from theAmerica’s Labor Market Information System(ALMIS) database. Government contact information isprovided by the Colorado Department of Labor andEmployment’s ES-202 employer database.
Data Editing
Once data collection is complete, measures aretaken to prepare the data for analysis. To ensure
accuracy, follow-up phone calls are made whenemployer responses need clarification.
Occupational Coding
The job title and duties reported by employers areused to code vacancies in accordance with the lat-
est release of the Standard Occupational Classificationsystem. For more information on this occupationalclassification system, please refer to the definitionssection.
Wage Conversion
Standard conversions are used to translate salariesinto hourly wages: 2,080 hours for annual, 173.3
hours for monthly.
All wages reported below the Federal minimumwage are adjusted to that amount. Currently, theFederal minimum wage is $5.15 per hour.
34 Western & Southwest Region
Definitions
These definitions are meant to clarify data gath-ered for the Job Vacancy Survey. For other datasources referenced in the document, please see
that source for a complete definition.
Average
The arithmetic average (also called the mean) for agroup of items is defined as the sum of the values ofthe items divided by the number of items.
Average Minimum and Average Maximum Wage
When surveyed employers report wages offered forcurrent vacancies, both a minimum and a maximumwage are recorded. All minimum wages are aver-aged to determine the reported average minimumwage. The same is true for the reported averagemaximum wage.
Employer
A person or establishment that pays one or morepeople a wage or salary.
Employment
Includes people who did any work for pay or profitin the reference period, worked 15 hours or morewithout pay in a family business or farm, or weretemporarily absent from their jobs.
Full-time and Part-time Employment
To be classified as full-time employment, a posi-tion must require a minimum of 35 hours of workper week. Part-time employment refers to caseswhere a position requires less than 35 hours ofwork a week.
Industry Classification
Employers are grouped into industries on thebasis of their principal product or activity in accor-dance with the 1987 Standard IndustrialClassification Manual.
Job Seekers
People actively looking for employment orresearching career options.
Job Vacancy
A specific position of employment at an establish-ment with the condition that there is work availablefor the position and the employer is actively recruitingfor the position. The definition does not include posi-tions that are anticipated, but not yet created.
Job Vacancy Rate
The number of openings in a specific industry orcategory expressed as a share of the total employmentin that same industry.
Labor Force
Consists of all employed or unemployed civilianswho are eligible to work, plus members of the ArmedForces stationed in the United States.
Level of Education
Refers to completed education programs - highschool diplomas, associate, professional, vocational,bachelor’s, and graduate degrees all are examples ofcompleted programs.
Medical Insurance Premium
Refers to payments that a holder of an insurancepolicy pays in order to keep his/her policy current.
Permanent and Temporary Employment
A vacancy is classified as permanent if it will befilled for more than six months. Temporary employ-ment refers to those positions that will be filled for sixmonths or less.
Sign-on Bonus
An additional financial incentive offered by a firmto a new employee to influence his/her decision toagree to employment with that firm. The bonus, forpurposes of this survey, is a monetary lump sum.
SOC
The Standard Occupational Classification is a sys-tem for classifying all occupations in the economy,including private, public, and military occupations.This classification system replaces all occupational
35Job Vacancy Survey
classification systems previously used by Federal sta-tistical agencies. It will be used by all Federal statisti-cal agencies and programs collecting occupationaldata, providing a means to compare occupational dataacross agencies. It is designed to cover all occupationsin which work is performed for pay or profit, reflect-ing the current occupational structure in the UnitedStates.
Survey Sample Universe
All private industry and government employers withfive or more employees in the region. Governmententities are drawn from ES-202 while private companiescome from the ALMIS database.
Unemployment
Includes people 16 years of age and over who hadno employment during the reference period, were
available for work (except for temporary illness), andhave made specific efforts to find employment. Peoplewho did not look for work because they were ontemporary layoff or waiting to start new jobs withinthe next thirty days are also counted among theunemployed.
Unemployment rate
The unemployment rate represents the numberunemployed as a percent of the labor force.
Wage
The monetary return per hour of work. The defini-tion does not include benefits (e.g., insurance, retire-ment program, or stock plans).
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