Minnesota employers reported 41,400 job vacancies in the second quarter, up 32 percent from the same period a year ago, according to a report released Wednesday by the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED).

However, the number of unemployed people for each vacancy declined from last year. The state had 4.8 unemployed people for each vacancy during the second quarter this year, down from 7.9 unemployed people for each job vacancy at the same time last year.

“While we are still in the early stages of economic recovery, the survey indicates that the job market is beginning to improve statewide,” DEED Commissioner Dan McElroy said in a statement. “This is the first decrease in the number of unemployed people per vacancy in Minnesota since the second quarter of 2006.”

The most job openings during the second quarter were in the Twin Cities metropolitan area, where 23,800 job vacancies-58 percent of the total-were reported. The other 17,600 vacancies were in Greater Minnesota.

Job vacancies increased 26 percent from a year ago in the Twin Cities and 37 percent in Greater Minnesota. During the quarter, the Twin Cities had 4.4 unemployed people for each job vacancy, while Greater Minnesota had 5.4 unemployed people per job vacancy.

The most job vacancies in the second quarter were in the health care and social assistance sector (20 percent), followed by retail trade (12 percent), accommodation and food services (11 percent), educational services (10 percent), and manufacturing (9 percent).

Firms with 50 or more workers accounted for 61 percent of the job vacancies. Businesses with 10 to 49 workers had 26 percent of the vacancies and those with fewer than 10 workers had 13 percent of the vacancies.

About 42 percent of the job vacancies were for part-time employment, which is defined as fewer than 35 hours a week. Temporary or seasonal work accounted for 21 percent of the job vacancies.

The job vacancy statistics came from DEED's Job Vacancy Survey, which was sent to a sample of about 13,000 firms in the state, of which 70 percent responded.

-Melissa Loth