Online Labor Demand Dips 13,600 in October

November 1, 2011 – Online advertised vacancies dipped slightly by 13,600 in October to 3,933,400, according to The Conference Board’s Help Wanted OnLine Data Series (HWOL). The October drop follows a decline of 44,000 in September and a decrease of 164,000 in August. The Supply/Demand rate stands at 3.54, indicating there were 3.5 unemployed for every online advertised vacancy in September, the latest monthly data available for unemployment. “The good news is that labor demand did not deteriorate further in October, but at the same time we have no clear sign that demand is picking up,” said June Shelp, vice president at The Conference Board. The drop of 513,000 in demand over the last seven months has largely offset the gain of 763,000 in early 2011 and narrowed the average monthly gain for 2011 to 25,000. In October, occupational categories that continued to decline in labor demand included both legal and management occupations. Office and administrative support occupations were brighter; they posted a gain of 47,000 over the last two months.