Online Labor Demand Down Over 150,000 In July

(Newsroom America) -- Online advertised vacancies fell 153,600 in July to 4,793,500, according to The Conference Board Help Wanted OnLine (HWOL) Data Series released today.

The Supply/Demand rate stands at 2.6 unemployed for every vacancy. In June the number of unemployed was 7.8 million above the number of advertised vacancies compared to 10 million above in the fall of 2011.

"Over the last three years labor demand continued to move forward, albeit slowly, making this a very slow-growth recovery and an indication of the lingering economic uncertainty of employers," said June Shelp, Vice President at The Conference Board.

The average monthly increase for labor demand was 39,000 in 2010, up to 50,000 in 2011. In the first seven months of 2012, the increase is up to an average of 67,000 per month. Across the U.S. and across occupations, the picture is mixed with some States and metro areas benefiting from strength in manufacturing and energy as well as the continuing demand in occupations like computers and math and healthcare.

In addition, Sales occupations are up 126,000 thus far in 2012.

In July online labor demand declined in four out of five States in the U.S. States that posted increases included Florida (+5,600), Nevada (+1,700), Alabama (+1,100), Hawaii (+1,000), Colorado (+800), Rhode Island (+300), Minnesota (+300), and Idaho (+100). Two States, Arizona and Louisiana, remained the same.

Online labor demand in the Midwest dropped 42,200 in July. Ohio experienced the largest decline, 9,300, while Minnesota posted a gain of 300. The July decline in Ohio brought the seven-month total for 2012 to a gain of 18,100, or 10.7%. Other large States with July losses included Illinois, down 6,600 for a year-to-date gain of 24,100, or 15.2%; Missouri, down 4,600; Wisconsin, down 4,300; and Michigan, down 700. Among the smaller Midwest States, Indiana lost 4,100, South Dakota lost 2,200, and Kansas and North Dakota both fell by 1,200.

Online labor demand in the South fell 20,200 in July with Florida posting the only increase (+5,600) among the large States. Texas, the largest State in the region, declined 4,800 for a combined increase of 45,100, or 14.6 percent, in the first seven months of 2012. Georgia lost 2,400 for a seven-month increase of 12,600, or 10.8 percent. Virginia dropped 2,000 while Maryland lost 1,300 and North Carolina fell 300. Among the smaller States in the South, Tennessee fell 3,600, Arkansas dropped 2,500, South Carolina lost 2,200, and Louisiana was unchanged.

In the West online labor demand fell 18,800 in July. California, the largest State, dropped 9,200 in July but was up 64,800, or 14 percent, in the first seven months of 2012. Washington dropped 2,400 in July and was up 14,100, or 13.6 percent, so far this year. Colorado gained 800, and Arizona remained constant. Among the smaller States in the region, Nevada increased by 1,700, Oregon dropped 2,100, and Utah fell 700.

Online labor demand in the Northeast fell 11,700 in July. New Jersey dropped 4,400 for a cumulative gain of 11,500, or 8 percent, so far this year. New York fell 2,800 in July for a cumulative gain of 33,800, or 13.4 percent, so far in 2012. Pennsylvania lost 2,500, and Massachusetts fell 1,800. Among the smaller States in the Northeast, labor demand decreased by 1,000 in Maine, 900 in New Hampshire, and 700 in Connecticut and increased by 300 in Rhode Island.

The Supply/Demand rate for the U.S. in June (the latest month for which the national unemployment number is available) stands at 2.58, indicating that there are between 2 and 3 unemployed workers for every online advertised vacancy. Nationally, there are 7.8 million more unemployed workers than advertised vacancies.

The Supply/Demand rates for the States are also for June 2012, the latest month available for unemployment data.

The number of advertised vacancies exceeded the number of unemployed only in North Dakota, where the Supply/Demand rate was 0.62. The State with the highest Supply/Demand rate is Mississippi (5.14), where there were over five unemployed workers for every online advertised vacancy.

The Supply/Demand rate only provides a measure of relative tightness of the individual State labor markets and does not suggest that the occupations of the unemployed directly align with the occupations of the advertised vacancies.