Houston, which edged up two points in July, saw the sharpest monthly increase in online job recruitment activity among the 28 markets, fueled by significantly higher demand for healthcare workers and increased online opportunities in the service sector. The Houston area is the only Index market that resisted a downward move during the previous three months. Healthcare practitioners and technical occupations registered the strongest gain in online job availability among all occupational categories in Houston last month, reflecting a continued shortage of nurses in the area.
The Index for Portland remained flat last month, however, online recruitment activity in the area has risen three points, or three percent, between April and July. With April being the traditional peak recruitment month, the majority of markets saw online job availability go flat or decline in subsequent months. The growth in the Portland market over this period is a positive sign for the regional job market and is further supported by the area's shrinking unemployment rate, which hit a seven-year low for the month in May according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Los Angeles registered the sharpest dip in online recruitment activity in July, falling four points, or four percent. The decline in Los Angeles is an extension of the general moderation in recruitment activity following the elevated levels seen during the late-winter and spring months.
Protective service was the only occupational category to show increased demand in the Los Angeles area in July. In contrast, online demand for office and administrative support; and production occupations turned lower, with each category showing negative over-the-year growth for the first time since the Index's inception.
Meanwhile, Minneapolis also declined in July, falling four points, or three percent, on sharply lower online recruitment activity in the white-collar segment, particularly among business and financial operations: and computer and mathematical (IT) occupations. Demand for healthcare positions in Minneapolis also dipped lower last month, contrasting the national trend, while opportunities for personal care and service occupations also plunged. Nevertheless, the Index for Minneapolis remains up six percent year-over-year and has seen a mostly upward growth trend in 2007.
Online job availability declined in St. Louis for the first time in seven months. Much like Minneapolis, reduced demand for healthcare occupations helped weigh down the Index for St. Louis, which showed far fewer online opportunities for healthcare practitioners and technical occupations compared to June. Blue-collar occupations proved to be another area of weakness for St. Louis, with construction recruitment continuing to soften as the season progresses. Community and social services occupations also saw a strong drop in recruitment activity in July, however, the category remains up 14 percent over the year.
Online job demand in the Capital region remained mild in July with Baltimore and Washington, D.C. both showing only moderate improvement in terms of their respective annual growth rates. The Index for Baltimore, which remained flat last month, is up only two percent over the year, as well as over the past three months.
Meanwhile, the Index for Washington D.C., which fell two points, or two percent, last month, is showing just three percent growth over the year. Fewer opportunities for white-collar occupations has held both markets back with below-average trends in online recruitment for business and financial operations; legal; and office and administrative support occupations.
Following moderate declines in both June and July, online job availability is now down over the year in both San Diego and Tampa - the only two Index markets showing year-over-year declines. Reduced demand for construction and finance occupations is the main source of the drag in both markets, reflecting the adverse impact of the housing decline and fallout from the sub-prime mortgage industry. Both markets have seen upward trends in their respective jobless rates and a loosening of their previously tight local labor conditions.
