W Southwest estern Region - · PDF fileEmail: [email protected] ... Vicki N. Netherland Analyst for this region: ... paying jobs are given an individual’s skills and level

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: [email protected]

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: [email protected] (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


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.


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.


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.


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


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


Government

$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.


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.


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.


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


$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.


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


$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.


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


$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


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


$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


Vacancies: Additional Compensation

Partial Cost of Premium

No Monetary ContributonTowards Premium

$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.


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





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


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



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.


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Sur

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with

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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

‡

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t 25%

of a

ctua

l res

pons

esM

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iddl

e 50

% o

f act

ual r

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nses

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est 2

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f act

ual r

espo

nses


SO

C

Co

de

SO

C O

ccu

pati

on

al T

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‡

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ancy

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k

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rag

e

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e

En

try-

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el

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pati

on

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mp

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en

t S

tati

sti

cs W

ag

e D

ata

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era

ge

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rite

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ns

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29

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29

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61

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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

‡

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t 25%

of a

ctua

l res

pons

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iddl

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f act

ual r

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nses


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C

Co

de

SO

C O

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on

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k

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try-

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el

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mp

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ag

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21

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35

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31

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37

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37

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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

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est 2

5% o

f act

ual r

espo

nses


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C

Co

de

SO

C O

ccu

pati

on

al T

itle

‡

Vac

ancy

Ran

k

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rag

e

JVS

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try-

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el

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mp

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e D

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(2001)

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39

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00

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39

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41

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41

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.78

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8

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02

1

In

su

ran

ce

Sa

les A

ge

nts

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11

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7$

27

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13

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5$

25

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$3

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6$

38

.12

41

-90

22

Re

al E

sta

te S

ale

s A

ge

nts

M$

12

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3$

17

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26

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1-9

03

1

S

ale

s E

ng

ine

ers

L$

28

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$2

0.3

2$

31

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6$

18

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3.3

5$

30

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$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


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

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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

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$1

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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

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$7

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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

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$1

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5

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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

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7$

14

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$1

6.9

3$

9.3

4$

11

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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

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$9

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$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

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$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

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12

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11

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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


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

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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

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$1

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4$

21

.24

$1

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4$

12

.38

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5.0

4$

25

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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

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$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

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0$

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2$

11

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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

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1$

17

.92

$2

0.1

4$

12

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$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

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$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

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0$

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7$

11

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$1

4.2

0$

6.4

9$

7.9

5$

10

.25

$1

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4$

19

.79

51

-60

11

La

un

dry

an

d D

ry-C

lea

nin

g W

ork

ers

L†

$6

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$7

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$8

.32

$5

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$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


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

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.20

$7

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$1

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2$

13

.73

$6

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$8

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0$

13

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7.4

9

*5

3-3

01

1

A

mb

ula

nce

Drive

rs a

nd

Att

en

da

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,

Exce

pt

Em

erg

en

cy M

ed

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l T

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nic

ian

sL

$1

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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

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$8

.96

$1

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5$

10

.75

$8

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$9

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0.0

7$

10

.96

$1

2.7

7

53

-30

32

Tru

ck D

rive

rs,

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avy a

nd

Tra

cto

r-T

raile

rH

$1

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0$

10

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7$

15

.43

$9

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$1

1.6

0$

13

.29

$1

5.9

2$

17

.96

53

-30

33

Tru

ck D

rive

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Lig

ht

or

De

live

ry S

erv

ice

sM

$7

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$9

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$1

3.5

8$

15

.71

$8

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0.0

8$

12

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$1

4.5

0$

24

.36

53

-70

51

Ind

ustr

ial T

ruck a

nd

Tra

cto

r O

pe

rato

rsL

$7

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$1

0.4

7$

11

.76

$7

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.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

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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


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.


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


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).

Documents

W Southwest estern Region - · PDF fileEmail: [email protected] ... Vicki N. Netherland Analyst for this region: ... paying jobs are given an individual’s skills and level