Office of Rural Health & Primary Care
Health Workforce Analysis Program
Minnesota Pharmacies and Pharmacy Workforce 2005
The Office of Rural Health and Primary Care (ORHPC) conducts an annual survey of pharmacies to
gather information about demand for pharmacists and pharmacy technicians. The August 2005, survey
generated 709 responses from pharmacies with Minnesota addresses. These pharmacies reported
employing 1,584 full-time and 651 part-time pharmacists.
Minnesota had 1,220 licensed pharmacies in 2006-07 (total number of licenses, excluding federal and
non-resident pharmacies). Thus, survey respondents represented about 58 percent of pharmacies. The
Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED) estimated that the state
had about 3,900 pharmacists in the last half of 2005. The 2,235 pharmacist positions reported by
survey respondents represented 57 percent of the positions DEED estimated.
Highlights
Pharmacists
ƒ One in five pharmacies reported at least one pharmacist vacancy in August 2005. Vacancies
were about evenly split between full-time and part-time positions.
ƒ Most reported pharmacist vacancies were due to a pharmacist leaving, but about a third were
due to newly created positions.
ƒ Forty percent of those reporting said it took three months or less to hire a full-time pharmacist,
but more than one-third said it took more than six months.
ƒ Pharmacist vacancy rates have remained generally low since 2002, according to Minnesota
Department of Employment and Economic Development estimates.
Pharmacy Technicians
ƒ One in five pharmacies reported at least one pharmacy technician vacancy in August 2005.
Most vacancies were for part-time technicians.
ƒ On average, pharmacies reported employing one full-time and one part-time technician for
every full-time pharmacist.
ƒ Pharmacy technician vacancy rates have remained very low since 2002, according to
Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development estimates.
Pharmacies
ƒ The number of chain-operated community pharmacies in Minnesota has increased 71 percent
since 1997, while the number of non-chain community pharmacies has declined 19 percent.
ƒ Chains account for 72 percent of community pharmacies in the seven-county Twin Cities area.
Non-chain pharmacies still account for 54 percent of pharmacies in Greater Minnesota.
P.O. Box 64882
St. Paul, MN 55164-0882
(651) 201-3838
http://www.health.state.mn.us
March 2007
Minnesota Pharmacy Facts and Data 2005
Pharmacist vacancies
Twenty percent of responding pharmacies said they had a vacant pharmacist position.
ƒ
ƒ
Fifty-nine percent of these (12 percent of all respondents) said they had at least one full-time
pharmacist vacancy.
Fifty-two percent of these (10 percent of all respondents) said they had at least one part-time
pharmacist vacancy.
When surveyed in 2005, 71 pharmacies said they were actively recruiting to fill 87 full-time positions
and 57 part-time positions. In the 2004 survey, 43 pharmacies reported 55 full-time and 32 part-time
positions.
Reported pharmacy
positions, 2005
(N = 709 respondents)
Reported positions
per full-time pharmacist
Full-time
Pharmacists
1,584
Part-time
Pharmacists
651
.41
Reported vacancies
(N = 709 respondents)
No vacancies
At least one vacancy
Part time only
Full time only
Full time and part time
2005
80%
20%
8%
9%
2%
2004
89%
11%
5%
6%
< 1%
Most respondents with vacancies said their full-time vacancies were the result of pharmacists leaving,
but more than a third of those giving a reason for their vacancies said they were recruiting for newly
created positions. The pattern was similar in 2004.
In both 2005 and 2004, most vacancies were for retail pharmacy positions.
Reasons for Pharmacist
Vacancies
Pharmacies reporting vacancies
Number of reported vacancies
Due to pharmacist leaving
Due to new pharmacist position
No reason given
2005
2004
Full time
Part time
Full time
Part time
83
72 43 38
100
75
54 39
51%
47% 59% 69%
30%
43% 36% 26%
19%
10%
6%
5%
Minnesota Pharmacy Facts and Data 2005
Types Pharmacist Vacancies
Number of pharmacies recruiting
Positions being recruited
Clinical pharmacists
Hospital pharmacists
Pharmaceutical care pharmacists
Retail pharmacists
Other
2005
Full
Part time
time
71
57
87
58
13
4
17
10
4
1
51
49
4
2
2004
Full time
Part time
36 31
47 51
20
10
01
24 29
12 1
2
Forty percent of pharmacies said they were able to fill their full-time vacancies in three months, or
less. However, 37 percent said it took more than six months to fill a full-time pharmacist vacancy.
Answers to this question were little changed from 2004.
Average Time to Fill
Pharmacist Positions
0-3 months
4-6 months
More than 6 months
2005
Full time Part time
40%
44%
23%
24%
37%
32%
2004
Full time Part time
39%
23%
22%
47%
39%
30%
The Board of Pharmacy reported 4,861 active pharmacists in 2006, up from 4,720 in 2005. The
number of active resident pharmacists increased 27 percent from 1996 to 2006.
Fifty-four percent of Twin Cities area pharmacists are female, compared to 41 percent of Greater
Minnesota pharmacists.
Active
Pharmacists
March 15, 2006
Female
Male
TOTAL
7-county*
Metro Area
80-county
Non-metro Area
Total
1,503 (54%)
1,2792 (46%)
2,795 (100%)
844 (41%)
1,222 (59%)
2,066 (100%)
2,347 (48%)
2,514 (52%)
4,861 (100%)
Minnesota Pharmacy Facts and Data 2005
The Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development estimates pharmacist
vacancy rates remaining relatively low, fluctuating between 1 and 2 percent since 2002.
Pharmacist Vacancy Rates
2nd quarter 2002 through 4th quarter 2005
2.5%
2.3%
2.0%
1.8%
1.5%
1.4%
1.1%
1.0%
1.4%
1.6%
1.6%
0.9%
1.2%
0.5%
0.0%
2Q2002
4Q2002
2Q2003
4Q2003
2Q2004
4Q2004
2Q2005
4Q2005
2Q2006
Pharmacy Technician Vacancies
Twenty-one percent of pharmacies said they had at least one pharmacy technician vacancy. Most
vacancies were part time.
Pharmacies responding to the ORHPC survey reported employing about one full-time and one parttime pharmacy technician for every full-time pharmacist. Including part-time positions, they employed
more technicians than pharmacists.
Pharmacy Technicians
(709 respondents)
Reported positions
Per full-time pharmacist
Reported vacancies
(N = 709 respondents)
No vacancies
At least one vacancy
Part-time only
Full-time only
Full-time and part-time
Full-time
Technicians
1,589
1.00
2005
79%
21%
14%
5%
3%
Part-time
Technicians
1,648
1.04
2004
84%
16%
10%
5%
1%
Minnesota Pharmacy Facts and Data 2005
The Minnesota Board of Pharmacy reported 6,752 resident pharmacy technicians in 2006, compared to
6,508 in 2005. The number of registered pharmacy technicians increased 64 percent from 2000 to
2006.
Registered Pharmacy
Technicians
7-county*
March 15, 2006
Metro Area
Female
2,768
(78%)
Male
772 (22%)
TOTAL
3,540
(100%)
80-county
Non-metro
area
2,907 (91%)
TOTAL
5,675 (84%)
305 (9%)
3,212 (100%)
1,077 (16%)
6,752 (100%)
* Anoka, Carver, Dakota, Hennepin, Ramsey, Scott and Washington counties.
Pharmacy technician vacancy rates have remained very low, until a big increase in the second half of
2005. Data is not yet available for 2006.
Pharmacy Technician Vacancy Rates
2nd quarter 2002 through 4th quarter 2005
6.0%
4.8%
4.0%
2.0%
0.9%
0.7%
0.0%
2Q2002
4Q2002
0.6%
0.2%
2Q2003 4Q2003
0.4%
0.6%
0.4%
2Q2004 4Q2004
2Q2005
4Q2005
0.9%
2Q2006
Pharmacies by size
Although there are a handful of very large pharmacies, most pharmacies are small. Less than 4 percent
have more than five full-time pharmacists.
Number of full-time pharmacists
Percentage of Pharmacies
0
1
2-5
6-10
11-15
16-20
> 20
6.6%*
39.6%
49.9%
1.2%
1.1%
.6%
.8%
N = 709
Forty-six of 47 pharmacies reporting no full-time pharmacist had one or more part-time pharmacists.
Minnesota Pharmacy Facts and Data 2005
Trends in Number of Pharmacies
The estimated number non-federal Minnesota pharmacies increased 13 percent from 1,013 in 1996 to
1,220 in 2006. Most pharmacies are part of traditional “drug stores” that sell health and cosmetic
products, as well as a variety of other merchandise. The Census Bureau estimated that Minnesota had
609 pharmacies and drug stores in 2005 (U.S. Census Bureau, County Business Patterns 2004). In
addition, pharmacies are increasingly located in large general merchandise “supercenters.”
Over the past 10 years, the number of pharmacies operated by commercial chains has grown, while the
number of independent, non-chain pharmacies has declined.
The number of non-chain community pharmacies has declined across the state, but especially in
Greater Minnesota. The number of chain-operated community pharmacies has grown rapidly,
especially in the Twin Cities area.
Community Pharmacies, 1997-2006
700
600
500
400
non-chain
300
chain
200
100
0
1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006
Source: Minnesota Board of Pharmacy
Minnesota Pharmacy Facts and Data 2005
Change in Number of Community Pharmacies, 2000-2006 by ownership type
Source: Minnesota Board of Pharmacy
7-county Twin Cities area
Balance of state
Non-chain Chain
-6.7% +33.2%
-20.5% +20.5%
Despite the loss of non-chain pharmacies in non-metropolitan Minnesota, non-chain pharmacies still
account for an estimated 54 percent of community pharmacies in non-metropolitan Minnesota,
compared to only 28 percent in the Twin Cities area.
Community Pharmacies by Ownership Type
7-county Twin Cities Area
non-chain
28%
chain
72%
Balance of State
chain
46%
non-chain
54%
Source: Minnesota Board of Pharmacy.
Minnesota Pharmacy Facts and Data 2005
Office of Rural Health and Primary Care Rural Health Profiles: Pharmacies (October 2003)
http://www.health.state.mn.us/divs/cfh/orhpc/comm/pub/rpts.htm
2005 pharmacy vacancy questionnaire (PDF: 28KB/2pg)
http://www.health.state.mn.us/divs/chs/workforce/RXsurvey05.pdf.
2005 pharmacy vacancy survey data are available upon request:
Contact Jay Fonkert at (651) 201-3846 or [email protected]
Department of Employment and Economic Development job vacancy data
http://www.deed.state.mn.us/lmi/jobs.htm.
Minnesota Board of Pharmacy licensing and registration statistics
http://www.phcybrd.state.mn.us/stats.htm
For 2005, data is reported for three groupings of counties:
MSA counties – 21 Minnesota counties included in seven metropolitan statistical areas
(Minneapolis-St. Paul, St. Cloud, Rochester, Duluth-Superior, Fargo, Grand Forks and La
Crosse)
Micropolitan counties – 20 counties surrounding smaller urban centers of at least 10,000
people
Rural – 46 counties outside MSAs and Micropolitan areas