Online Labor Demand Dips Slightly in February
Press release from the issuing company
Thursday, March 3rd, 2011
Online Labor Demand Dips Slightly (- 27,400) in February, The Conference Board Reports
Labor demand remains basically unchanged in February after rising 438,000 in January
Demand for workers in Computer and Mathematical occupations is up in February
Online advertised vacancies dipped by 27,400 in February to 4,245,600 according to The Conference Board Help Wanted OnLine™ (HWOL) Data Series released today. Labor demand has risen 1.41 million since the series’ low point in April 2009. This increase offsets approximately 80 percent of the 1.76 million drop in ad volume during the 2-year downturn period from April 2007 through April 2009.
“Total labor demand (new ads and ads that are reposted from the previous month) paused in February, but the number of new, first-time advertised vacancies continued to rise and is an indication that employers are continuing to look for workers,” said June Shelp, Vice President at The Conference Board. “Nationally, new ads were up 86,100 in February, and that is a positive sign in contrast to the last few years when advertised vacancies either dropped or remained unchanged from January to February.” Nationally, there were 9.6 million more unemployed than advertised vacancies in January (the latest month for which unemployment data are available) (Chart 1).
