Online Labor Demand Rises 93,800 in December

(Newsroom America) -- Online advertised vacancies rose 93,800 in December to 3,951,000, according to The Conference Board Help Wanted OnLine (HWOL) Data Series released today.

The December increase offset the dips of 76,000 in November and 14,000 in October. The Supply/Demand rate stands at 3.45, indicating there were 3.5 unemployed for every online advertised vacancy in November, the latest monthly data available for unemployment.

"The December increase was a welcome lift for labor demand after a lackluster year," said June Shelp, Vice President at The Conference Board. Labor demand struggled in 2011.

After a promising start in the early months of the year, labor demand had been basically flat since August. Some of the occupations that saw an uptick in December are among those in which the Supply/Demand rate (number of unemployed relative to advertised vacancies) was well above the National average for all occupations. Production jobs, where there are 7.7 unemployed for every advertised vacancy, rose 11,000 in December and Building and grounds workers, with a S/D rate of 12.6, rose 5,300.

In December, the Midwest experienced the largest gain, 44,600, reflecting gains in all 6 of its largest States. Michigan had the largest increase, 12,400. Illinois was next with a gain of 6,500. Ohio rose 6,400. Minnesota and Missouri both gained 5,100 after a November loss of over 6,000 each. Wisconsin rose 4,800, its first gain since May. Among the less populous States in the region, Iowa gained 3,200, North Dakota rose 1,200, and South Dakota gained 600.

Labor demand in the West was up 41,200 in December and was led by its largest State, California, which gained 12,500. Colorado gained 6,900. Washington State rose 3,900. Arizona gained 3,500. Among the medium / smaller States in the West, Oregon gained 3,700, Idaho rose 2,100, New Mexico gained 1,500, Utah rose 800, and Nevada gained 700.

The Northeast was up by 27,200 in December, reflecting gains in all 4 of its large States. New York experienced the largest gain, 7,500, compensating for its November loss. Next was Massachusetts with a gain of 5,500, its first gain since May. New Jersey rose 4,900. Pennsylvania gained 2,100. Among the smaller States in the region, Connecticut rose 4,100, New Hampshire gained 1,600, Vermont rose 800, and Rhode Island gained 400.

The South rose 10,500, led by a gain of 4,500 in Texas, rising for the fourth consecutive month while North Carolina rose 3,200. These increases were offset, in part, by weak labor demand in several of the other large states. Among the largest States, Virginia and Maryland declined 11,200 and 2,500 respectively, while Florida (+100) and Georgia (+600) showed little change in December. Among the less populous States in the South, several posted increases in December. Oklahoma gained 1,900, Tennessee rose 1,700, Louisiana gained 1,500, and Arkansas rose 1,300.

The Supply/Demand rate for the U.S. in November (the latest month for which unemployment numbers are available) stood at 3.45, indicating that there are over 3 unemployed workers for every online advertised vacancy. Nationally, there are 9.4 million more unemployed workers than advertised vacancies. While the number of advertised vacancies rose an average of 29,000 a month, the November Supply/Demand rate was basically in line with the January '11 rate of 3.24.

The number of advertised vacancies exceeded the number of unemployed only in North Dakota, where the Supply/Demand rate was 0.88. States with the next lowest rates included Nebraska (1.27), South Dakota (1.40), Vermont (1.60), Alaska (1.83), Minnesota (1.89), and New Hampshire (1.92).The State with the highest Supply/Demand rate is Mississippi (7.73), where there are close to 8 unemployed workers for every online advertised vacancy. The States with the next highest Supply/Demand rates are Kentucky (5.25), California (4.84), Alabama (4.78), and Illinois (4.78).

It should be noted that 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 (see Occupational Highlights section).