Online Advertised Job Vacancies Fall Sharply in April

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In April 2008 there were 3,649,900 online advertised job vacancies, a 16.4% decline from the April 2007 level, according to The Conference Board Help-Wanted OnLine Data Series (HWOL). This is the second consecutive month of over-the-year declines for the nation as whole. Even for the six states that posted gains, the pace of growth has slowed. In April, there were 2.4 advertised vacancies posted online for every 100 persons in the labor force, down from a high of 2.9 in April 2007.  

“The weakness in online advertised vacancies evident over the last few months deepened in April and hiring is likely to continue to be lackluster into summer,” says Gad Levanon, economist at The Conference Board. “April is a month when we normally see employers increasing their recruitment, but this year it actually declined. The lack of new job opportunities is contributing to consumers’ feelings of uncertainty and is affecting their buying intentions. With increasing job worries and rising fuel prices, the percentage of respondents intending to take a vacation over the next six months fell to a 30-year low in the April Conference Board Consumer Confidence Survey.”  

The National/Regional Picture

In April, 2,591,500 of the 3,649,900 unduplicated online advertised vacancies were new ads that did not appear in March, while the rest are reposted ads from the previous month.  In April, a month expected to show a seasonal increase in labor demand, the number of total online advertised vacancies declined 2% while new ads rose 2% from March. The weak labor demand is clear in the April year-over-year numbers where total ads fell 16.4% and new ads dropped 10.6%. Both declines are the largest over-the-year declines since the HWOL series began in May 2005.

The monthly national decrease in advertised vacancies between March and April 2008 reflected deterioration in ads in all nine census regions. Additionally, the year-over-year (April ’07 – April ’08) growth rates in each of the nine Census regions turned negative in April.  

State Highlights

The number of advertised vacancies declined from April 2007 to April 2008 in 44 states (compared to 14 states in March 2008), and all the states experienced a slowing in the year-over-year growth rate. The March employment data released by the BLS indicates that all 50 states also 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, Nevada and Massachusetts. Alaska posted 4.45 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 eight months in a row. Nevada (4.09) and Massachusetts (3.97) 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 along the Eastern seaboard, and in addition to Massachusetts, include Delaware (3.96), Maryland (3.67), Vermont (3.53) and Connecticut (3.48).

Online advertised vacancies in California, the state with the largest labor force in the nation, totaled 491,400 in April. The ad volume in California dropped by over 231,000 ads, 32% below the April 2007 level. The volume of online advertised vacancies in Texas (309,900) was down 12% and ads in New York (268,000) were down 15% from year ago levels.