QUARTERLY REPORT HILLSDALE COUNTY Q1 2015

SUMMARY

Hillsdale County’s labor market is growing stronger. Employment in the county grew during 2014 while the size of the labor force remained the same, allowing the county to reduce its unemployment rate by 2 percentage points, from 9.7% to 7.4%.

Health care remains a strong occupational cluster in Hillsdale County. Postings in this cluster account for 20% of all online job postings in the county and nearly doubled between Q4 2014 and Q1 2015, from 30 to 59.

Job demand in the analyzed occupational clusters remained stagnant (around 300 postings) throughout 2014 and into Q1 2015, with 290 total postings.

ANALYSISHeavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers maintained their title from Q4 2014 (18 postings) as the most in-demand occupation in Hillsdale County in Q1 2015 with 39 postings and physical therapists as second most demanded with 24 postings. Rounding out the top 5 were customer service representatives, speech-language pathologists, and retail salespersons.

TOP JOBS Q1 2015

HILLSDALE Q1 2015 DEMAND OVERVIEW

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*This report includes top jobs and postings over time highlights for clusters that have made major shifts ormovements in the past quarter. The data is updated each quarter based on the clusters with the most noteworthy changes. For complete top jobs lists, educational attainment, and wage information, please see the regional reports or contact WIN's Research Director Colby Cesaro at colby.cesaro@win-semich.org.

HIGHLIGHTS

ANALYSIS

ANALYSIS

Postings for occupations in health care peaked in Hillsdale County in Q1 2015 at 59, the most postings seen in this cluster from the beginning of 2011 to the end of 2014. The next highest demand for health care occupations occurred in Q1 2013, with 45 postings. Demand in the health care cluster had fluctuated between 15 and 30 for most of 2014.

HEALTH CARE POSTINGS OVER TIME

ANALYSIS

Postings for occupations in the IT cluster doubled from Q4 2014 to Q1 2015, from 7 to 14 postings. Demand for IT occupations in Hillsdale County was also strong at the beginning of 2014, with 12 and 17 postings in Q1 and Q2, respectively. Postings sank in Q3 and Q4, but this new peak in Q1 contributes to an overall positive trend in IT postings since Q1 2011.

IT POSTINGS OVER TIME

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LABOR MARKET OVERVIEW

ANALYSIS

ANALYSIS

ANALYSISDuring 2014, employment in Hillsdale County averaged 17,965 individuals, with an available labor force of 19,402. Employment grew relatively steadily in 2014 from 17,369 in January to 18,111 in December. Employment was up 2.5% between 2013 and 2014 while the labor force remained the same, so Hillsdale County saw its unemployment rate drop 2 percentage points from 9.7% to 7.4%. These employment data represent a gradual increase in employment in Hillsdale County since the recession.

EMPLOYMENT & LABOR FORCE

ANALYSISTotal job postings in Hillsdale County peaked at 402 in Q3 2013, followed by a sharp decrease to 226 in Q4 2014. Total postings in 2014 hung around 300, and have remained there in Q1 2015 with 290 postings.

TOTAL POSTINGS OVER TIME

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POSTING TRENDS BY CLUSTER

ANALYSIS

Occupations in the health care cluster represent 20.3% of all online job postings in Hillsdale County; job demand in this cluster increased by almost 100% between Q4 2014 and Q1 2015. On the other hand, the next top cluster, retail & hospitality, with 17.2% of postings, saw demand fall by 50% between quarters. Another cluster, IT, experienced a dramatic increase in postings between quarters. Postings in the IT cluster for Hillsdale County increased from 7 to 14 between Q4 and Q1. This increase brings demand for occupations back to the levels experienced before major drops in Q3 and Q4 2014.

The clusters analyzed by WIN account for 59.3% of all online job postings in the county.

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TOP JOBS BY CLUSTER

ANALYSIS

ANALYSIS

ANALYSISPhysical therapists retain their status as the most demanded health care occupation in Hillsdale County between Q4 2014 and Q1 2015, with postings increasing from 10 to 24. Again, physical therapists are undeniably the most demanded health occupation, with the next most demanded, speech language pathologists, garnering only 12 postings in Q1. Register nurses round out Hillsdale’s top three most in-demand health care occupations, with an increase in postings from 5 to 11 between quarters.

HEALTH CARE TOP JOBS

ANALYSISThe top 5 skilled trades occupations remained the same between Q4 2014 and Q1 2015 with posting levels in the top jobs remaining fairly stagnant. Postings for first-line supervisors of production and operating workers increased from 3 to 7 in order to take the spot of the most in-demand skilled trade occupation.

SKILLED TRADE & TECHNICIAN TOP JOBS

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ANALYSISPostings for customer service representatives increased from 5 to 12 between Q4 2014 and Q1 2015, making this occupation the most demanded retail job in Hillsdale County. Retail salespersons retain their status and the second most-demanded job in this cluster. Q4 2014’s third most-demanded retail occupation, food preparation and serving workers, saw postings a 75% decrease in postings between quarters, from 12 to 3.

RETAIL TOP JOBS

ANALYSISIn Q1 2015, software developers, applications and information technology project managers were the most demanded IT occupations, with 4 postings each. Postings in this cluster remain low in Hillsdale County; other occupations had just one posting each. However, overall postings in the cluster doubled between quarters, from 7 to 14 postings. Also notable, Q4 2014’s most demanded occupation, geospatial information scientists and technologists, is not present on Q1’s list of top jobs, as postings in IT skew more toward developers and IT managers.

IT TOP JOBS

TOP JOBS BY CLUSTER

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