Job Vacancy Survey - 2009

Conducted By

The Maine Department of Labor, Center for Workforce Research and Information has contracted with Brandt Information Services of Tallahassee, Florida to collect the data for the 2009 survey. Visit their website at http://www.brandtinfo.com/Surveys.aspx.

FAQs

1. How and why was my business or organization selected to participate in the survey?
2. How are the selected establishments surveyed?
3. Are my responses confidential?
4. For what purposes can the survey results be used?
5. Who do I contact for the results of the Job Vacancy Survey?

1. How and why was my business or organization selected to participate in the survey?

If your business or organization was chosen to complete a survey, you may be representing hundreds of business or organizations in your area or industry - that's why it's so important that we receive a response from you. Over 3,100 Maine establishments were selected to participate in the survey through a stratified random sampling design. The population of establishments was stratified by industry, region and business or organization size to ensure that the resulting sample was representative of the population of business or organization in each region/industry/business or organization size strata. Your response is extremely important to the study, so if there is anything we can do to make it easier for you to respond, we'd like to help.


2. How are the selected establishments surveyed?

Sampled business or organizations receive a telephone call from Brandt Information Services, a private contractor, who is authorized to contact survey participants and gather data on behalf of the state of Maine to complete the survey. To complete the survey, call toll free: (866) 762-1002. The survey includes a series of questions about each job vacancy employer's report, such as how much education and experience the opening requires, what the starting wage is. Business or organizations that do not respond to the first call either receive a second follow-up call as well.


3. Are my responses confidential?

Yes, responses are completely confidential. Your responses will be combined with others to produce statistics on hiring needs in Maine. No information identifying your business or organization or its responses will be published or released.


4. For what purposes can the survey results be used?

The results from vacancy surveys can fill a variety of needs: Job seekers can use the results to find out which occupations (or regions) have the highest demand for workers; Employers can use the information to gauge the existence of labor shortages and to plan solutions to hiring needs; Policy analysts and policy makers can use the information to determine where there are discrepancies between labor supply and demand, and to begin to consider how to address such issues of labor mismatch; and workforce development personnel can use the information to determine where and how training dollars would be best utilized.


5. Who do I contact for the results of the Job Vacancy Survey?

Results from the Job Vacancy Surveys will be available at: http://www.maine.gov/labor/lmis/. You may view or download these results, or you may call the Center for Workforce Research and Information at (207) 623-7900 to request a hard copy.