Labor Demand Reaches Record High Levels in April

May 1, 2012 – Online advertised vacancies rose 90,900 in April to 4,760,500, according to The Conference Board’s Help Wanted OnLine Data Series (HWOL). The April rise is the fifth consecutive monthly rise and has led to the series' highest level to date. The supply/demand rate stands at 2.7 unemployed for every vacancy, and the number of unemployed was 8 million above the number of advertised vacancies. “Labor demand continues its five-month upward trend, which has averaged about 113,000 vacancies per month,” said June Shelp, vice president at The Conference Board. “This is welcome news for unemployed workers or those looking to change jobs.” In addition, 13 of the 20 largest metro areas posted gains in labor demand in April and 17 of the 52 largest metropolitan areas reached their highest levels of labor demand since the HWOL series began in May 2005.