During February, online job availability rose in 17 of the Index’s 20 industry categories and in 18 of the 23 occupational categories measured. However, on a year-over-year basis, the Index remained down 26%, the same annual pace observed in January.
"The gain in the February Index is the first since October of 2008, but is a typical pattern seen historically as we move from January to February and companies start their recruiting efforts in earnest. Most industries and occupations showed an increase in online recruitment activity in February as did the majority of geographical regions and major metropolitan markets. All of this suggests that traditional annual hiring cycles remain somewhat intact," said Jesse Harriott, senior vice president and chief knowledge officer at Monster Worldwide. "The annual growth rate for the Index is still negative year-over-year, suggesting that labor market conditions remain well below the hiring demand of 2007 and early 2008."
Utilities and Real Estate Industries Register Largest Monthly Gains in February
Online job opportunities in all but three industry sectors rebounded in February with Utilities registering the largest monthly gain. Administrative/ Support /Waste Management/Remediation Services staged a partial rebound from the record low online recruitment levels of January. The increase in the latest month has been small relative to previous years and overall recruitment activity is considerably below year-ago levels, reflecting the dramatic fall in demand for business support and facilities-related services as companies look to save costs amid the current economic climate.
Professional, Scientific and Technical Services registered a rise in worker demand due to seasonal demand for accountants and related professionals. Manufacturing also saw a rise in February suggesting that employers may have initiated a hiring cycle in advance of busier production in the spring. Public Administration also gained for the second month in a row. This appears to be the only sector with consistently solid net hiring, evidenced by the fact that payroll employment trends continued to move in an upward direction at the local, state and especially federal levels in January as well. Aside from Agriculture, Public Administration was the only sector to register positive annual growth in the Index.
In contrast, Arts, Entertainment and Recreation had one of the steepest falls among the industry sectors in the February Index reflecting tempered expectations for leisure spending in the near future.
Occupations in Community and Social Services rise sharply while Protective Services and Arts edge lower in February
Community and Social Services registered a 14% month-over-month increase, the largest amongst all occupational categories, likely driven by a rush of volunteer and part-time openings across all regions. Business and Financial Operations also gained in February after registering declines in the previous two months. However, this move upward is not an anomaly considering the seasonal increase in demand for tax assistance and filing services in advance of the April tax deadline. Both Healthcare Practitioners and Healthcare Support saw increases in online demand for jobs.
Meanwhile, Protective Service and Arts, Design, Entertainment, Sports, and Media were the only occupational categories to edge lower in February.
On a year-over-year basis, Military Specific experienced the fastest acceleration in annual growth pace among occupations, reflecting upward momentum in online recruitment and associated demand for defense-related workers.
East South Central Region exhibits sharp rise while Pacific remains flat in February
The East South Central Region saw a sharp rise in February among all the Census Bureau Regions, reversing an 8-month downtrend. Alabama had the most favorable trend in this region on both a monthly as well as an annual basis. The Pacific Region remained flat in February, with hiring conditions generally unchanged in the California market.
On an annual basis, the Northeast became the steepest contracting area, down by almost 35% on the year. This was primarily due to the modest hiring trends in the New England region. In contrast, the Mountain region had the most improved annual growth rate in the Index amongst the various regions mainly due to favorable online demand for workers in Nevada, Idaho and New Mexico.
Online Job Opportunities Rise in 25 of the 28 Metro Markets in February
Online job availability rose in 25 of the 28 metro markets led by Pittsburgh and Houston. Pittsburgh registered the largest monthly rise, bolstered by substantially increased demand for business and financial operations professionals and blue-collar workers. Houston saw increased demand for management workers, healthcare support and practitioners/technical professionals.
Seattle and Portland registered small gains while Kansas City remained flat in February. Although there were isolated areas of seasonal increase among occupations in the Kansas market, from a long-term view, the downward trend in recruitment activity suggests restricted demand for new workers in virtually all occupational categories.
