Online advertised vacancies dipped slightly by 13,600 in October to 3,933,400, according toThe Conference Board Help Wanted OnLine(HWOL)Data Seriesreleased today. The October drop follows a decline of 44,000 in September and a decrease of 164,000 in August. The Supply/Demand rate stands at 3.54, indicating there were 3.5 unemployed for every online advertised vacancy in September, the latest monthly data available for unemployment.

"The good news is that labor demand did not deteriorate further in October, but at the same time we have no clear sign that demand is picking up," saidJune Shelp, Vice President at The Conference Board. The drop of 513,000 in demand over the last seven months has largely offset the gain of 763,000 in early 2011 and narrowed the average monthly gain for 2011 to 25,000. In October, occupational categories that continued to decline in labor demand included both Legal and Management occupations. Office and administrative support occupations were brighter; they posted a gain of 47,000 over the last two months. (See occupational detail section.)

REGIONAL AND STATE HIGHLIGHTS

In October:

• The Midwest and West dip while the Northeast and South hold steady
• Pennsylvania, among the 20 largest States, is flat while other States show an overall downward trend

In October, the Midwest dipped 14,500, reflecting losses in 5 out of 6 of its largest States. Minnesotawas the only one of the larger states posting a gain (+2,500) in October. This was the first monthly gain forMinnesotasinceJune 2011. Ohio andMichiganexperienced declines of 3,900 and 3,100 respectively in October while advertised vacancies inMissouriwere down 2,100. Illinois andWisconsindropped 1,400 and 600 respectively, and both were states that have seen declines in advertised vacancies over the last few months. Among the less populous States in the region,IndianaandIowafell 1,900 and 1,300 respectively whileNorth DakotaandSouth Dakotagained 500 and 200 respectively.

Labor demand in theWestwas down slightly by 13,900 in October and was led byWashington State, which lost 9,300.California, the region's largest State, rose 1,900 after a combined loss of 59,000 for the previous four months.Arizonaremained virtually unchanged with a slight gain of 100.ColoradoandOregondeclined by 600 and 100, respectively. Over the past 5 months,Oregonhas slipped by a total of 9,800. Among the small States in the West,Utahgained 500,New Mexicodropped 1,300,Idahofell 500, andNevadalost 400.

In October, theNortheastrose slightly by 13,600, reflecting gains in 3 of 4 of its large States. Pennsylvania experienced the largest increase, 6,200. New York gained 4,500 after a combined 6-month loss of 51,000. New Jersey rose 3,300, after two months of declines. Labor demand inMassachusettswas basically unchanged in October (-200). Over the last five months, advertised vacancies inMassachusettshave declined nearly 20,000. Among the smaller States in the region,Rhode Island,Vermont, andConnecticutgained 900, 500, and 200 respectively whileNew Hampshiredropped 500.

TheSouthalso posted a modest increase of 4,700, reflecting slight gains in four out of six of its large States in October.Floridaexperienced the largest gain, 4,200. Next wasGeorgiawith a gain of 2,700, partially offsetting a combined 4-month loss of 33,100.Texasgained 2,600, andNorth Carolinarose 1,600. Maryland dropped 2,800. SinceMay 2011, labor demand inMarylandhas slipped by over 27,300.Virginiafell 1,000 for a combined 5-month drop of nearly 15,000. Among the smaller States in the South,Alabamadropped 1,300,Arkansaslost 1,000, andOklahomafell a mere 100 whileTennesseegained 1,000.

The Supply/Demand rate for the U.S. in September (the latest month for which unemployment numbers are available) stood at 3.54, indicating that there are close to 4 unemployed workers for every online advertised vacancy. Nationally, there are 10 million more unemployed workers than advertised vacancies. The number of advertised vacancies exceeded the number of unemployed only inNorth Dakota, where the Supply/Demand rate was 0.89. States with the next lowest rates includedSouth Dakota(1.46),Nebraska(1.52),Vermont(1.71),Alaska(1.78), andNew Hampshire(1.95). The State with the highest Supply/Demand rate isMississippi(7.73), where there are close to 8 unemployed workers for every online advertised vacancy. There are a few other States in which there are at least five unemployed for every advertised vacancy. These includeSouth Carolina(5.17),California(5.08),Kentucky(5.01), andAlabama(5.00).

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).

OCCUPATIONAL HIGHLIGHTS

In October:

• Demand for Office and Administrative Support shows an upward bounce
• Ads for Production workers and Sales staff level off following several months of declines

Changes for the Month of October

In October, twelve of the twenty-two Standard Occupational Classifications (SOC codes) that are reported separately declined while nine posted some gains and one,Community and Social Services, was unchanged. For most of the occupational categories the October change, whether up or down, was modest.

Among the top 10 occupation groups with the largest numbers of online advertised vacancies, demand forOffice and Administrative Supportoccupationsrose 30,100 to 468,700. This followed a September rise of 17,000. Occupations that underwent increases in October included Receptionists and Information Clerks, Customer Service Representatives, and Executive Secretaries and Administrative Assistants. The number of unemployed in these occupations remains above the number of advertised vacancies with nearly 4 (3.81) unemployed for every advertised vacancy.

Healthcare Practitioners and Technicaloccupations, in contrast, posted the largest decrease, 25,000, to 506,600. Largely responsible for the drop were decreased advertised vacancies for Registered Nurses and Family and General Practitioners. However, the number of advertised vacancies in this occupational category continues to outnumber job-seekers by 2.6 to one (0.38 S/D based on September data, the latest unemployment data available).

Labor demand forManagementworkers also declined in October, down 6,000 to 371,800, led largely by a decrease in demand for Medical and Health Services Managers and Marketing Managers. Demand for workers in this occupational category has fallen 96,000 since May. There are close to 2 unemployed for every advertised vacancy in this occupational category (S/D of 1.91).

Two occupations posting increases in October included Transportation and Material Moving and Sales and Related. Demand forTransportation and Material Movingworkers rose 8,900 to 198,900. This increase was led by an increase in demand for Truck Drivers. The number of unemployed in this occupational category continues to outnumber the number of advertised vacancies by close to 6 to 1 (S/D of 5.58). Labor demand forSales and Relatedworkers rose 8,700 to 510,700. This increase, following a September drop of nearly 20,000, was led by an increase in demand for Retail Salespeople. The number of unemployed in this occupational category continues to outnumber the number of advertised vacancies by about 3 to 1 (S/D of 3.11).

Longer View of Labor Demand for Selected Occupations

"Looking at the 22 broad occupational categories over the ten months of 2011, the patterns for labor demand have been quite different, with some occupations easier to categorize in terms of their trend than others," said Shelp. Construction and Extraction, for example, has had a very slow but relatively steady increase throughout 2011; it has risen an average of 2,000 a month to 76,600 in October. The demand forLegaloccupations, on the other hand, after stalling in early 2010, has declined rather sharply in the last seven months; it has dropped an average of 946 ads/month to 21,200 advertised vacancies in October. Other occupations that have lost ground in the last few months and continue their slide in October includeArchitecture and Engineering;Healthcare Support; Management; Life, Physical and Social Sciences; Community and Social ServicesandComputer and Mathematical.

"For other occupations, we will need another few months to tell if demand is stabilizing," said Shelp. For example, demand forProductionworkers, (117,000 advertised vacancies in October) is closely in line with the September level; it declined only 247, which is a hopeful sign that demand is stabilizing. "The increased demand forOffice and Administrative Supportin the last two months (+47,000) is positive note," adds Shelp, "but the monthly average throughout 2011, at 456,000/month, is a level that is 117,600 fewer ads per month than in 2007."

For the job-seeker, the difficulty of finding a job is a factor of the number of openings as well as the number of people seeking work in that profession. The broad occupational groups that can be termed "favorable," where there are more advertised vacancies than unemployed people seeking positions, includeComputer and Math, Healthcare Practitioners and Technical,andLife, Physical and Social Sciences. Occupations where finding a position is more challenging and where there are more unemployed than advertised vacancies includeConstruction(18.9 unemployed for every available opening); Food Preparation and Serving(9.6); andProductionWorkandPersonal Care, both with over 8 unemployed for every available opening.

METRO AREA HIGHLIGHTS

• Washington, D.C.,Oklahoma City,Boston, andMinneapolis-St. Paulhave the lowest Supply/Demand rates

In October, 38 of the 52 metropolitan areas for which data are reported separately posted over-the-year increases in the number of online advertised vacancies. Among the three metro areas with the largest numbers of advertised vacancies, theNew Yorkmetro area was down 5,600, or 2.2 percent, from itsOctober 2010level and theWashington, DCmetro area was down 3,600, or 2.5 percent, from last year. In contrast, theLos Angelesmetro area was up 2,900, or 1.9 percent, from last year's level.

The number of unemployed exceeded the number of advertised vacancies in all of the 52 metro areas for which information is reported separately.Washington, DCcontinues to have the most favorable Supply/Demand rate (1.30) with about one advertised vacancy for every unemployed worker.Oklahoma City,Boston,Minneapolis-St. Paul, andHonoluluwere metropolitan locations where there were fewer than two unemployed looking for work for every advertised vacancy. On the other hand, metro areas in which the respective number of unemployed is substantially above the number of online advertised vacancies includeRiverside, CA— where there are nearly nine unemployed people for every advertised vacancy (8.94) —Miami(5.84),Sacramento(5.14),Los Angeles(4.71),Detroit(4.67), andLas Vegas(4.63). Supply/Demand rate data are forAugust 2011, the latest month for which unemployment data for local areas are available.