Department of Labor Releases 2015 Job Vacancy Survey Results

May 26, 2016

For Immediate Release: May 26, 2016 Media Contact: Julie Rabinowitz, Department of Labor, 621-5009

AUGUSTA?The Department of Labor?s Center for Workforce Research and Information has posted findings of its 2015 Job Vacancy Survey (JVS) at http://www.maine.gov/labor/cwri/jvs/ .

The survey was sent to 3,400 Maine businesses seeking feedback about vacant positions. Data was collected for September vacancies through December 2015. Sixty-two percent of those surveyed responded. Of 2,100 responses, 700 (33%) indicated they had one or more job openings.

?As our labor market tightens we want to make sure that we match employers with workers with the right skills,? said Governor Paul R. LePage. ?Data helps target training programs to increase the skills of our workforce both to help our employers grow and to attract new business to the state.?

The survey asked employers whether they had job openings for which they were actively recruiting in the month of September and, if so, to briefly describe open positions and identify whether the positions were difficult to fill.

The sample was designed to develop findings by region: Aroostook-Washington, Tri County (Hancock, Penobscot and Piscataquis Counties), Central-Western (Androscoggin, Franklin, Kennebec, Oxford and Somerset Counties), North Coastal (Knox, Lincoln, Sagadahoc and Waldo Counties), and South Coastal (Cumberland and York Counties); in classifications by employer size: small firms with employment of 2 to 19, mid-sized firms (20 to 99) and large firms (100 or more); and by industry (16 sectors).

The results of the survey are presented in a series of web pages with interactive tables describing vacancies by industry, occupation and region. More detail on difficult-to-fill vacancies will be added.

The 2015 JVS found that the largest number of vacancies occurred in the healthcare and social assistance industry (6,874), while the highest demand for workers was found in the administrative and waste services industry (with 12% of vacancies compared to 6% of current jobs). By occupational group, the largest number of vacancies were for food preparation/serving-related occupations (2,995) while the highest demand for workers was found in healthcare support occupations (claiming 7% of vacancies compared to 3% of current jobs).

The top five occupations ranked by number of vacancies were: customer service representative, personal care aide, registered nurse, nursing assistants and food preparation and serving workers.

CWRI develops and disseminates information on employment, unemployment and wages; analyzes outcomes of education and training programs to guide decision-making; and develops industry and occupational employment forecasts designed to guide career planning and curriculum development. They work with a wide range of customers to provide context to the dynamics of the economy and the implications those have for workforce development. CWRI publishes a variety of data on Maine?s economy, workforce and demographics at http://www.maine.gov/labor/cwri .

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