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The Conference Board Help-Wanted Online Data Series(TM) Rebounds in January

Posted on: Tuesday, 14 February 2006, 12:00 CST

NEW YORK, Feb. 14 /PRNewswire/ -- Online job ads rebounded sharply in January to 2,162,000 new unduplicated online job ads posted for the calendar month, according to The Conference Board Help-Wanted OnLine Data Series(TM). The January total was up 529,000, an increase of one-third from the December low. January's total was slightly higher than the August 2005 monthly peak of 2,131,000. April 2005 is the earliest monthly data available in this data series.

In January, there were 1.44 online job ads per 100 persons in the U.S. labor force, compared to 1.09 in December and 1.21 in November.

Although the data series does not have sufficient history to allow for seasonal adjustments, Ken Goldstein, Labor Economist at The Conference Board, noted that a large portion of the declines in November and December followed by the bounce back in January reflect seasonal patterns seen in other employment data. The monthly figures reported in the Help-Wanted OnLine Data Series are the sum of the number of unduplicated new first-time online job ads for each day of the calendar month.

"The fact that the January number is back up to the higher level we saw in August 2005 indicates that the demand for labor is holding steady and seems to have weathered the hurricane and energy-related effects of last Fall," says Goldstein. "The January online help-wanted ad volume is consistent with what we are seeing from the Consumer Confidence Survey. In January, consumers were more upbeat about current economic conditions, and they were especially more positive about the job market."

Regional Area Results

January ad volume rose from the previous month in each of the nine census regions. The strongest month-over-month increases in ad volume were in the New England (40%) and West South Central (37%) regions. Other regions were in line with the one-third rise for the nation as a whole, with the East South Central and Mid Atlantic regions rising 34%, East North Central and the South Atlantic up 32%, and the Pacific and Mountain regions up 31% and 30%, respectively.

Denver Comes Out on Top Among All Metropolitan Areas

January's ad volume was up over December levels in all of the 52 metropolitan areas for which data are reported separately. Denver with 3.44 job ads per 100 persons in the labor force had the highest volume of ads adjusted for the size of the local labor force. Other areas with the largest number of ads per 100 persons in the labor force include the west coast areas of San Francisco (3.21), San Diego (3.12) and Seattle (3.03). On the east coast, Boston with 2.97 ads per 100 in the labor force and Washington D.C. with 2.93 have the highest volume. Only two metropolitan areas out of the 52 areas had less than one ad per 100 persons in the labor force -- Detroit (0.72) and Rochester, NY (0.89).

ABOUT THE NEW ONLINE JOB SERIES

The Conference Board Help-Wanted Online Data Series(TM) measures the number of new, first-time online jobs posted on more than 1,200 major Internet job boards and smaller job boards that serve niche markets and smaller geographic areas.

Like The Conference Board's long running Help-Wanted Advertising Index of print ads (which has been published since 1951), the new online series is not a direct measure of job vacancies. The level of ads in both print and online may change for reasons not related to overall job demand.

The Conference Board, as a standard practice with new data series, considers the estimates in The Conference Board Help-Wanted OnLine Data Series(TM) to be developmental. As a not-for-profit business research organization, The Conference Board is publishing the early months of this series for use by the media, analysts, researchers and the business community. Persons using this data are urged to review the information on the database and methodology available on our website and contact the economists listed at the top of this release with questions and comments.

Background information and technical notes on this new series are available on The Conference Board's website: http://www.conference-board.org/economics/helpwantedOnline.cfm.

The underlying data for this series is provided by Wanted Technologies, Inc. CareerBuilder, Inc. provides financial support for the series.

ABOUT THE CONFERENCE BOARD

Non-partisan and not-for-profit, The Conference Board is one of the world's leading business membership and research organizations. The Conference Board produces The Consumer Confidence Index and the Leading Economic Indicators for the U.S. and other major nations. These barometers can have a major impact on the financial markets. The Conference Board also produces a wide range of authoritative reports on corporate governance and ethics, human resources and diversity, executive compensation and corporate citizenship. Our conference and council programs bring together more than 10,000 senior executives each year to share insights and learn from each other. Visit The Conference Board's award-winning website at http://www.conference-board.org/.

About WANTED Technologies Inc.

Founded in 1997, WANTED Technologies Inc. is a leading provider of real- time sales and business intelligence. Through its proprietary data mining and aggregation technology, WANTED delivers concise, accurate and actionable data, aimed at helping to increase sales and profitability for its clientele throughout North America. WANTED was recently bestowed the Model of Excellence Award by the InfoCommerce Group in recognition of online business innovation. For more information, visit http://www.wantedtech.com/.

About CareerBuilder.com

CareerBuilder.com is the nation's largest online job site with more than 20 million unique visitors and over 1 million jobs. Owned by Tribune Company, Gannett Co., Inc., and Knight Ridder, Inc., the company offers a vast online and print network to help job seekers connect with employers. CareerBuilder.com powers the career centers for more than 550 partners that include 165 newspapers and leading portals such as MSN and America Online. For more information about CareerBuilder.com products and services, visit http://www.careerbuilder.com/.

The Conference Board

CONTACT: Ken Goldstein, +1-212-339-0331, or June Shelp, +1-212-339-0369,both for The Conference Board

Web site: http://www.conference-board.org/http://www.careerbuilder.com/http://www.wantedtech.com/

Source: PRNewswire

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