Job Openings Decrease

The popular job search engine SimplyHired.com has reported in its May 2012 Employment Outlook report that job openings are down 5.4 percent across the nation, over-the-month and down 6.9 percent over-the-year. Job competition remained flat for April 2012 resting at three unemployed persons for each job opening.

“Although job openings decreased from last month, this isn’t unusual for hiring during this time of year,” said Gautam Godhwani, CEO of SimplyHired.com. “Some months during the year tend to be slower for hiring, and we continue to see healthy numbers of job listings in our database.”

All top 50 metro areas experienced decreased job openings, especially in the Cleveland-Akron, Ohio (-11.9 percent), Grand Rapids, Michigan (-11.3 percent), and West Palm Beach, Florida (-10.5 percent) areas. However, some areas, including Las Vegas, Orlando, Detroit, Philadelphia, and Chicago saw a drop in job competition despite lagging hiring rates.

Two-thirds of industries experienced job opening declines in April with agriculture (-14.6 percent), technology (-10 percent) and healthcare (-9.9 percent) leading the pack in this category. Of the remaining industries, the military recorded the greatest increase in jobs at 17.8 percent. This industry was followed by non-profit (6.8 percent), hospitality (4.3 percent), and government (3.8 percent).

Farmers, fishers, and forestry workers experienced a major job boom for the month up 19.3 percent over March while financial specialists and accountants saw a 12.9 percent increase. The pair were the only two occupations to records double-digit growth in April. Decreases in job openings were experienced in 20 of the 24 occupation categories with sales representatives suffering the greatest decline at 38.7 percent over-the-month.