Online job vacancies rose by
nearly 60,000 open positions in September, according to data measured monthly
by The Conference Board, a nonprofit business research organization. Since June
2009, online job vacancies have expanded by 1 million positions—an increase of
30 percent.
In September, technology saw the most job-vacancy gain
of any industry, with 15,200 newly advertised job opportunities. Technology
workers have not seen this much demand since September 2008, said the report.
Here are some of key details:
"Computer
and Mathematical Science occupations posted the largest September increase, up 15,200
to 587,900, offsetting the 14,000 loss in August. The increase was largely due
to rising demand for computer software engineers (systems software) and web
developers. [...] Demand for workers in this occupational category exceeds the
number of unemployed looking for work by just over 3 to 1."
Demand increased in the fields of transportation,
architecture and engineering, and administration; demand declined in sales,
health care, and the business and financial fields. Health care technology work
continues to be a rising star in 2010 as practitioners are gearing up for government-mandated
electronic health record compliance. The slump in health care jobs was in
support positions, the report said:
"In August
[...] advertised vacancies for healthcare practitioners or technical
occupations outnumbered the unemployed looking for work in this field by over 2
to 1, and the average wage in these occupations is $33.51/hour. [...] In sharp
contrast, the average wage for healthcare support occupations is $12.84/hour
and there were nearly 3 unemployed looking for work in the field for every
advertised vacancy."
Despite the good news for tech workers,
unemployment across all industries is still an issue and affects the outlook on
the economy. According to The Conference Board, there are 3.51 unemployed
workers for every available online job vacancy, but that is down from the peak
of 4.73 in October 2009.
"Since the NBER [National Bureau of Economic
Research] June 2009 end of the recession, HWOL [Help Wanted Online] has
increased by 1 million advertised vacancies," June Shelp, vice president
of The Conference Board, said in a statement. "The HWOL series trough in
April 2009 led the NBER official trough by about two months, reflecting a
rather typical pattern where labor demand leads at economic turning points. Following
the rapid HWOL rises in labor demand in the fourth quarter [of] 2009 and first quarter
[of] 2010, labor demand has now settled into more modest growth, pointing to a
moderate growth in employment through the end of 2010."
IT Management News & Reviews 
