Online Job Demand Rises 59,900 in September

October 1, 2010 – Online advertised vacancies rose 59,900 in September to 4,296,100 following a decrease of 57,100 in August, according to The Conference Board Help Wanted OnLine Data Series. The gap between the number of unemployed and advertised vacancies (supply/demand rate) stood at 3.51 unemployed for every advertised vacancy in August (the last available unemployment data) but is down from its peak of 4.73 in October 2009. “Since the NBER June 2009 end of the recession, HWOL has increased by 1 million advertised vacancies,” said June Shelp, vice president at The Conference Board. “The HWOL series trough in April 2009 lead the NBER official trough by about two months, reflecting a rather typical pattern where labor demand leads at economic turning points. Following the rapid HWOL rises in labor demand in the 4th quarter 2009 and 1st quarter 2010, labor demand has now settled into more modest growth, pointing to a moderate growth in employment through the end of 2010.” Among the top 10 occupation groups with the largest numbers of online advertised vacancies, computer and mathematical science occupations posted the largest September increase, up 15,200 to 587,900, offsetting the 14,000 loss in August. Transportation and Material Moving occupations posted the second largest September increase, up 9,900 to 147,700. Sales and related occupations fell 26,400 in September to 482,200. Labor demand for healthcare practitioners and technical occupations dropped for the third month in a row and was down 26,200 in September to 516,300.