Unemployment insurance claimants represent an able and available supply of
trained labor. On-line postings represent a current demand for labor.
Rhode Island Department of Labor & Training
Labor Suppl y & Demand Supply Second Quarter 2012 Unemployment insurance claimants represent an able and available supply of trained labor. On-line postings represent a current demand for labor. A comparison of these two groups provides an indication of occupational groups for which labor supply is sufficient to meet employer’s current needs; and for which there is a shortage of trained workers available to meet employers’ current demands. On June 29, 2012, the Department of Labor and Training’s EmployRI on-line network recorded 9,533 online job postings from Rhode Island-based businesses. Also in June, some 25,291 individuals collected Unemployment Insurance (UI) benefits, accounting for less than half (44%) of all unemployed Rhode Island residents. A comparison of the on-line job postings to the UI claimants currently seeking work indicates that there were 2.7 claimants for each on-line posting, and a surplus of available labor (more claimants per posting) for nearly all occupational groups. Health Practitioners & Technical occupations, numbering 1,655, accounted for the most postings during the second quarter of 2012, followed by the Management (1,252), Sales & Related (1,181) and Office & Administrative Support (1,003) occupational groups. Legal occupations had the fewest on-line job postings, numbering 41 in the second quarter.
Labor Supply and Demand Second Quarter 2012
Occupation Group
EmployRI Postings*
Total Production Construction & Extraction Food Preparation & Serving Related Education, Training & Library Installation, Maintenance & Repair Office & Administrative Support Building & Grounds Cleaning & Maint. Arts, Design, Ent., Sports & Media Personal Care & Service Transportation & Material Moving Legal Community & Social Services Protective Service Management Business & Financial Operations Sales & Related Healthcare Support Life, Physical & Social Science Architecture & Engineering Computer & Mathematical Healthcare Practitioner & Technical
9,533 355 145 248 118 167 1,003 143 129 151 428 41 182 181 1,252 454 1,181 600 129 280 672 1,655
Unemployed Claimants**
Claimants/ Posting
25,291 3,354 1,267 1,441 614 868 4,690 605 525 584 1,542 105 453 349 2,355 839 1,649 830 168 290 451 620
2.7 9.4 8.7 5.8 5.2 5.2 4.7 4.2 4.1 3.9 3.6 2.6 2.5 1.9 1.9 1.8 1.4 1.4 1.3 1.0 0.7 0.4
* Jobs posted during the 90 day period ending June 30, 2012 and still open on June 30, 2012 ** Individuals receiving unemployment insurance payments for the week ending June 16, 2012
The greatest labor surplus was associated with the Production and Construction & Extraction occupational groups for which there were approximately nine UI claimants with this type of work experience for every on-line posting for jobs in these occupational groups. Other occupational groups for which there were significantly more unemployed workers than on-line postings included Food Preparation & Serving Related (5.8), Education, Training & Library (5.2), Installation, Maintenance & Repair (5.2), Office & Administrative Support (4.7), Building & Grounds Cleaning & Maintenance (4.2), and Arts, Design, Entertainment, Sports & Media (4.1), each of which had more than four unemployed claimants per an on-line posting. In contrast, there was more of a demand for Healthcare Practitioner & Technical and Computer & Mathematical occupations than available labor. For both these occupational groups there were more on-line postings than unemployed insurance claimants indicating previous work experience in these occupational groups. These statistics indicate that employers seeking to hire workers to fill vacancies for Healthcare Practitioner & Technical and Computer & Mathematical jobs would have more difficulty finding qualified workers than those employers attempting to fill vacancies in occupational groups for which there are significantly more unemployed claimants than on-line postings.
Labor Demand On-line postings represent a current demand for labor, detailing the types of occupations employers are seeking to fill. During the second quarter of 2012, EmployRI recorded over 9,500 on-line job postings for approximately 450 different occupations. Employers posted 50 or more advertisements for some 30 occupations during the second quarter of 2012, accounting for over 40 percent of the on-line postings. Demand exceeded supply for thirteen of the 30 occupations most in demand. For seven of these thirteen occupations an associate degree or higher is generally required.
Occupations with the Most Postings Occupational Title Registered Nurses Customer Service Representatives Nursing Aides, Orderlies, & Attendants Heavy & Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers Retail Salespersons First-Line Supervisors of Retail Sales Workers Home Health Aides Physical Therapists Insurance Sales Agents Security Guards Accountants & Auditors Nurse Practitioners Sales Representatives, Wholesale & Manufacturing, Technical & Scientific Products Occupational Therapists Maids & Housekeeping Cleaners Tellers Sales Representatives, Wholesale & Manufacturing, Except Technical & Scientific Products Hotel, Motel, & Resort Desk Clerks Executive Secretaries & Executive Administrative Assistants Personal Care Aides General & Operations Managers Bookkeeping, Accounting, & Auditing Clerks Management Analysts Advertising & Promotions Managers Stock Clerks, Sales Floor Financial Managers, Branch or Department Laborers & Freight, Stock, & Material Movers, Hand Loan Officers Food Service Managers Waiters & Waitresses
Claimants/ Postings* Claimants** Posting 805 331 289 239 200 181 177 154 142 135 126 108
121 650 278 195 223 273 158 6 39 208 115 3
0.2 2.0 1.0 0.8 1.1 1.5 0.9 0.0 0.3 1.5 0.9 0.0
100 95 80 80
107 7 118 125
1.1 0.1 1.5 1.6
77 74 74 70 68 67 66 65 65 56 54 52 52 51
194 36 290 234 452 277 31 23 341 120 174 51 77 190
2.5 0.5 3.9 3.3 6.6 4.1 0.5 0.4 5.2 2.1 3.2 1.0 1.5 3.7
* Jobs posted during the 90 day period ending June 30, 2012 and still open on June 30, 2012. EmployRI aggregates postings for a variety of job boards. Software is in place that is designed to eliminate duplicate postings. ** Individuals receiving unemployment insurance payments for the week ending June 16, 2012. Claimants select the occupational code which best describes their current position upon registering for benefits.
Labor Suppl y Supply Unemployment insurance claimants represent an able and available supply of trained workers who are currently seeking work. Nearly 25,300 individuals collected unemployment insurance benefits during June 2012. These unemployed claimants reported previous work experience in more than 650 different occupations. Labor surpluses existed for nearly all of the 30 occupations most frequently sited by UI claimants. For some of these occupations there were more than ten experienced workers per job posting, signifying the difficulty many unemployed workers are having finding work in occupations in which they were previously employed.
Occupations with the Most Claimants Occupational Title Packers & Packagers, Hand First-Line Supervisors of Production & Operating Workers Construction Carpenters Assemblers & Fabricators, All Other Medical Secretaries Office Clerks, General Shipping, Receiving, & Traffic Clerks Light Truck or Delivery Services Drivers Construction Laborers Janitors & Cleaners, Except Maids & Housekeeping Cleaners First-Line Supervisors of Office & Administrative Support Workers General & Operations Managers Cashiers Sales Managers Helpers—Production Workers Stock Clerks, Sales Floor Combined Food Preparation & Serving Workers, Including Fast Food Managers, All Other Bookkeeping, Accounting, & Auditing Clerks Executive Secretaries & Executive Administrative Assistants Waiters & Waitresses Personal Care Aides Laborers & Freight, Stock, & Material Movers, Hand Sales Representatives, Wholesale & Manufacturing, Except Technical & Scientific Products Customer Service Representatives Security Guards First-Line Supervisors of Retail Sales Workers Retail Salespersons Nursing Aides, Orderlies, & Attendants Heavy & Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers
Claimants** Postings*
Claimants/ Posting
208 418 218 230 215 544 167 201 174 215 256 452 220 218 262 341 184 191 277 290 190 234 174
4 11 9 10 10 30 10 20 20 28 36 68 34 36 45 65 37 42 67 74 51 70 54
52.0 38.0 24.2 23.0 21.5 18.1 16.7 10.1 8.7 7.7 7.1 6.6 6.5 6.1 5.8 5.2 5.0 4.5 4.1 3.9 3.7 3.3 3.2
194 650 208 273 223 278 195
77 331 135 181 200 289 239
2.5 2.0 1.5 1.5 1.1 1.0 0.8
* Jobs posted during the 90 day period ending June 30, 2012 and still open on June 30, 2012. EmployRI aggregates postings for a variety of job boards. Software is in place that is designed to eliminate duplicate postings. ** Individuals receiving unemployment insurance payments for the week ending June 16, 2012. Claimants select the occupational code which best describes their current position upon registering for benefits.
Labor Shor es Shorttag ages Despite record breaking unemployment, many Rhode Island employers report that they are having difficulty finding qualified workers to fill many of the positions they have available. During the second quarter of 2012 the number of posted vacancies for 57 occupations exceeded the number of individuals indicating previous work experience in those occupations. This data indicates that there are not enough experienced unemployed workers available to meet the strong demand employers have for occupations such occupational and physical therapists, registered nurses or insurance agents. However, even for occupations with few postings, such as mechanical or electrical engineers, microbiologists or chemists, if there are not enough workers to fill employers’ need, there is a labor shortage for that occupation.
Occupations with Potential Shortages Occupational Title Speech-Language Pathologists Physical Therapists Occupational Therapists Dentists, General Internists, General Registered Nurses Pharmacists Physician Assistants Insurance Sales Agents Financial Analysts Real Estate Sales Agents Extruding, Forming, Pressing, & Compacting Machine Setters, Operators, & Tenders Nuclear Medicine Technologists Advertising & Promotions Managers Correctional Officers & Jailers Medical Scientists, Except Epidemiologists Physical Therapist Assistants Management Analysts Electrical Engineers Surgical Technologists Hotel, Motel, & Resort Desk Clerks Medical & Clinical Laboratory Technologists Healthcare Social Workers Mechanical Engineers Counseling Psychologists Writers & Authors Materials Engineers Survey Researchers Environmental Compliance Inspectors Heavy & Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers Home Health Aides Accountants & Auditors Fitness Trainers & Aerobics Instructors Nonfarm Animal Caretakers Nursing Aides, Orderlies, & Attendants Merchandise Displayers & Window Trimmers Loan Officers
Postings*
Postings/ Claimants** Claimant
30 154 95 13 10 805 44 37 142 49 24
1 6 7 1 1 121 10 9 39 14 7
30 26 14 13 10 7 4 4 4 4 3
17 10 65 21 15 22 66 17 23 74 37 42 18 25 16 20 10 24 239 177 126 14 19 289 29 52
5 3 23 8 6 9 31 8 11 36 19 22 12 17 11 14 7 17 195 158 115 13 18 278 28 51
3 3 3 3 3 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 1.5 1.5 1.4 1.4 1.4 1.2 1.1 1.1 1.1 1.1 1.0 1.0 1.0
* Jobs posted during the 90 day period ending June 30, 2012 and still open on June 30, 2012 for which there were at least ten postings. ** Individuals receiving unemployment insurance payments for the week ending June 16, 2012 Rhode Island Department of Labor & Training Labor Market Information Unit 1511 Pontiac Ave. Cranston, RI 02920 (401) 462-8740 www.dlt.ri.gov/lmi
DLT is an Equal Opportunity Employer/Program. Auxiliary aids and services are available upon request to individuals with disabilities. TTY via RI Relay 711 Published August 2012
