Despite a 31 percent increase in job openings in the state from the end of 2009 to the end of 2010--and nearly six jobless people for every opening--Minnesota companies are still finding it hard to hire skilled employees, writes
Julie Forster in a March 5 article in the St. Paul Pioneer Press.Forster gives examples from the medical device, information technology, and tax law industries, and she cites a survey of manufacturing executives conducted recently by Enterprise Minnesota. Of the executives interviewed, 45 percent said it is difficult to attract qualified workers and half expected wages to increase.