THE NATIONAL - REGIONAL PICTURE
* 2,752,900 new online ads posted in June
* All nine Census Regions post over-the-year declines in labor demand
In June, 2,752,900 of the 3,800,600 unduplicated online advertised vacancies were new ads that did not appear in May, while the rest are reposted ads from the previous month. In June, a month expected to show a seasonal increase in labor demand, the number of total online advertised vacancies was virtually unchanged (up 5,200 or 0.1 percent) while new ads rose by 9,200 or 0.3 percent from May. However, the delicate labor market is clear in the June year-over-year numbers for labor demand where total ads fell 11.2 percent and new ads rose slightly by 0.3 percent.
The monthly national increase in advertised vacancies between May and June '08 reflected marginal increases in ads in four of the nine Census regions (New England, East South Central, West South Central and Pacific). However, online advertised vacancies in all nine Census regions were below last year's June levels.
STATE HIGHLIGHTS
* Alaska posts the highest ads rate in the country for the tenth month in a row
* Wyoming leads the nation with the lowest supply/demand rate
The number of advertised vacancies declined from June 2007 to June 2008 in 38 states (compared to 43 states in May 2008). The May employment data released by the BLS indicates that 35 of the 50 states also experienced a slowing in their year-over-year growth rate of employment. This is a slight improvement from April when 43 of the 50 states experienced a slowing in their year-over-year growth rate of employment.
States where job seekers are continuing to see a large number of advertised vacancies include Alaska, Colorado, and Nevada. Alaska posted 4.93 online advertised vacancies for every 100 persons in the state labor force, the highest rate in the nation. Alaska has held the number one position for ten months in a row. Colorado (4.18) and Nevada (4.05) were close behind in the number of advertised vacancies when adjusted for the size of the state labor force. Half of the top 10 states with the highest ads rate are on the East Coast and include Massachusetts (3.95), Delaware (3.84), Vermont (3.73), Rhode Island (3.64), and Maryland (3.63). The remaining states were west of the Mississippi and in addition to Alaska, Colorado and Nevada include Washington (3.72), and Arizona (3.60).
Online advertised vacancies in California, the state with the largest labor force in the nation, totaled 503,800 in June. The ad volume in California dropped by over 200,000 ads, 29 percent below the June 2007 level. The volume of online advertised vacancies in Texas (330,100) was down 9 percent and ads in New York (262,400) were down 13 percent from year ago levels.
"Although one cannot infer that the occupation or geographic location of unemployed persons matches the occupation or geographic location of the vacancies, looking at the number of unemployed in relation to the number of advertised vacancies provides an indication of available job opportunities for the unemployed," said Levanon. Using the latest unemployment data available from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) (May data) and computing the supply/demand ratio (unemployed/advertised vacancies), the states with the most favorable (e.g., lowest) supply/demand rates included Wyoming (0.88), North Dakota (0.94), Utah (0.96), Delaware (0.97), and Nebraska (0.99). In May 2008, five states had a supply/demand rate less than 1.0. This is still below the peak of 11 states with a supply/demand rate less than 1.0 in July 2007. For the nation as a whole, the comparable supply/demand rate for May 2008 was 2.1, indicating that for every two unemployed people looking for work there was only one online advertised vacancy.
States where the number of unemployed persons looking for work significantly exceeded the number of online advertised vacancies included Indiana (3.0), Tennessee (3.0), Kentucky (3.4), Michigan (4.7), and Mississippi (5.7).
OCCUPATIONAL FOCUS
* Healthcare - Still Leads Occupations in Highest Demand
"Many jobs in high demand are also, on average, among the highest paying occupations," said Levanon. Healthcare practitioners (228,800) and Management (192,100) are the two occupations with the most number of ads posted online. According to the latest federal hourly wage data, wages average about $31 for healthcare practitioners and $46 an hour for management. Also in high demand are occupations in computer and mathematical (181,800), business and financial operations (170,600) and office and administrative support (164,300).
METRO AREA HIGHLIGHTS
* Among 52 Large Metro Areas, Only 9 Areas Post Over the Year Gains
In June, 43 of the 52 metro areas for which data is reported separately posted a smaller number of advertised vacancies than last year. This is a slight improvement from last month when 45 of the 52 metro areas posted a smaller number of advertised vacancies than last year. The deterioration in the job market in some of the nation's largest metro areas is further reflected in comparing the number of unemployed to the number of advertised vacancies. Since July 2007, the number of metro areas with a supply/demand rate of less than one has fallen from 23 areas to 11 areas.
The top metro areas in June as measured by most advertised vacancies per 100 persons in the local labor force included Austin (5.87), Milwaukee (5.64), San Jose (5.01), Denver (5.01), and San Francisco (4.85).
