More jobs are opening across region

o Office, administrative support: 318

o Food preparation: 251

o Sales: 244

o Health care practitioners (Includes doctors and nurses): 223

o Education, training and library: 129

o Total job openings in region (All occupations): 1,999

Source: “Spring 2010 Washington Job Vacancy Survey Report,” Employment Security Department

More employers are hiring in Southwest Washington, but job openings in the region that includes Clark County are nowhere near the level they were a few years ago, according to a report issued Monday by the state Employment Security Department.

The department’s survey of spring job vacancies showed a 41 percent increase in openings in Southwest Washington since the same period a year ago. The survey, conducted twice a year in the spring and fall, identified an estimated 1,999 job openings in the region, compared to 1,418 in spring 2009.

While that is an improvement, the region is still climbing out of a hole dug by the Great Recession. Job creation is still far below pre-crash levels. In spring 2008, for example, Southwest Washington had 4,090 job openings. In spring 2007, it had 3,950.

Consistent measurements

The results of this year’s spring survey match “just about everything else we’re seeing in terms of economic indicators,” said Scott Bailey, Southwest Washington regional economist for the state Employment Security Department.

“It’s an improvement, but not a big one from a year ago. We’re still well below where we were.”

The state’s survey defines job vacancies, or openings, as a mix of newly created jobs and jobs made available because of turnover. The survey is intended to measure the number of vacant positions for which employers are hiring and to outline the characteristics of those positions. In this way, the survey aims to reveal employers’ work force needs.

In Southwest Washington, the largest number of job openings this spring were found in office and administrative support, food preparation, sales, health care and education.

That health care was high on the region’s list of industries with job openings may seem counterintuitive, given the recent news at Southwest Washington Medical Center, which has laid off 30 people since June.

However, Ken Cole, spokesman for Southwest, said the hospital has not implemented a hiring freeze and continues to review and hire for “essential, direct-care” positions. And the hospital still employs some 3,300 full-time and part-time employees.

“We have a relatively low turnover rate compared to other hospitals across the country,” Cole added.

In Washington state overall, job openings showed a 19 percent increase since the spring 2009 survey. This spring’s survey, based on responses from 14,014 employers, found an estimated 38,732 job openings statewide, compared to 32,635 during the same period a year ago.

The state’s record high number of job openings occurred in fall 2006, when there were 90,000 openings.

Most of the spring 2010 job openings were found in the state’s traditional economic engine: the Puget Sound region. King, Snohomish and Pierce counties collectively had 61 percent of the estimated job openings. Those counties are home to about 51 percent of the state’s population. Eastern Washington had the lowest share of job openings, with 2 percent.

Southwest Washington, encompassing Clark, Cowlitz and Wahkiakum counties, had a total of 1,999 job openings, or 5 percent of job openings across the state. The region houses 8 percent of the state’s population. The median wage offered for those vacant positions was $11 per hour.