Conference Board: Online Job Ads decreased in June

Online job advertisements declined by over 500,000 in June compared with the same period a year earlier, but a national report shows only a modest decrease from May, a private research group says.

The Conference Board released its monthly Help-Wanted Online Data Series report this week.

Online advertised vacancies were about 3.29 million in June, a 66,700 decline from May and a 505,800 drop from June 2008. Since record monthly declines of 507,000 and 506,000 in December and January, online ad vacancies have dropped a modest 71,000, the group said.

Gad Levanon, senior economist for the New York-based research group, said Tuesday that ad vacancies have held steady in the past three months and that's a good sign.

"The large decline in online job ads is over and in the last several months we've seen a moderation," Levanon said. "So some industries and companies are increasing their hiring, which is a good sign."

Levanon said while some large states like Florida and Georgia are showing modest gains in job ads, others like California and Pennsylvania have yet to show real improvement.

Twenty-four states posted online job ad vacancy gains in June when compared with May, which saw job ads rise by 250,000, the largest monthly increase since October 2006.

The Help-Wanted Online Data Series measures the number of new online jobs and openings reposted from the previous month on more than 1,200 major Internet job boards and smaller Web sites that serve niche markets.

Michigan had nearly 10 unemployed people for every advertised vacancy, followed by Indiana and Kentucky with over seven unemployed people for every advertised vacancy and Ohio, North Carolina and Mississippi with over six.

Levanon said Michigan's supply-and-demand rate is "very high. It is probably the highest ratio we've ever had for any state."

Michigan's unemployment rate jumped to 14.1 percent in May, its highest mark in nearly 26 years.

Among the larger states in the South, Florida saw the greatest gain in job postings with 9,200, followed by Georgia with 2,900. Texas saw a decline of 5,100 postings. Among the smaller states, West Virginia had an increase of 4,100, followed by Kentucky with 3,700.

In the Northeast, all four of the largest states posted declines in June. New York had the largest decrease with 5,300 fewer postings, followed by Pennsylvania with a drop of 2,700.

Wisconsin had a 4,300 decline in postings, the largest drop in the Midwest, followed by Minnesota with a decrease of 2,300. Illinois saw the largest increase with 1,900 new postings.

In the West, California was down 15,900 postings in June. Arizona and Colorado increased 4,600 and 3,400 but both states were still 40 percent below their levels in June 2008.

Job postings declined in computer and mathematical science and sales and related occupations with both areas posting over 30 percent fewer jobs from a year ago.

Other groups with ad vacancy declines were health practitioners and technical occupations and architecture and engineering.

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