Job Outlook For 2012

SIOUX FALLS, SD - If you're looking for a job, you'll find thousands available in South Dakota.  In fact, there are currently 15,500 job openings across the state.
 
A new employment outlook survey finds that in the first quarter of 2012, there will be even more "now hiring" signs going up.

When it comes to jobs, South Dakota has a surplus.

“Most of the jobs available are high-skilled jobs and we continue to struggle bringing people here. We don't have the talent pool in South Dakota to deal with the amount of jobs we have.  Same thing with North Dakota; Western North Dakota is hurting for people. We're both in the same situation,” Clinton Brown said. 

Brown is an employment recruiter for Manpower Professional. Manpower's employment outlook survey is predicting even more jobs for the first quarter of 2012, an increase of 10 percent in openings.

"Manpower actually goes out and interviews companies nationwide and regionally to figure out a region-by-region employment outlook," Brown said.

Brown says look for job growth in manufacturing and financial services.

"You see Capitol One, you see Citibank doing a lot of hiring and bringing people back," Brown said.

And Brown says you don't have to have a four-year degree to get a good paying job. Right now, technical expertise is almost more important.

"Skilled trades especially; welders, machinists, CNC operators, maintenance techs or any engineering technician type of position are in big demand all across the state and companies can't get enough people for the jobs," Brown said.

Brown says it's difficult to get people from more depressed parts of the country to relocate to South Dakota for a job because wages don't always match up.

“It's hard to talk to someone that was making you know, $45,000 in Indiana to say, 'Look at a job here for $32,000.'  That's tough. I've seen some companies who are raising wages across the board," Brown said.

And with wages rising, Brown says the push is on to get the jobs filled.

"We're hoping we can get people to come from other states where we have higher unemployment; that is one of the goals for this year.  For a lot of companies to really go out nationwide and start knocking on doors for people they really haven't reached out to in the past to say, 'You've been on unemployment for a while. We've got jobs here. Would you consider South Dakota?'" Brown said. 

Brown say companies typically increase their hiring at the beginning of the year because they are operating under new budgets.