Online Labor Demand Rises in November, Led by California, Florida, and Texas

 Online advertised vacancies rose 170,200 to 5,253,900 in November, according to The Conference Board Help Wanted OnLine (HWOL) Data Series. The October Supply/Demand rate stands at 1.77 unemployed for each advertised vacancy with a total of 3.9 million more unemployed workers than the number of advertised vacancies. The number of unemployed was 9.0 million in October.

“November labor demand shows renewed strength, helping to boost a slow-growth second half of the year,” said Gad Levanon, managing director of economic outlook and labor markets at The Conference Board. “Gains were widespread across states and MSAs with continued positive trend growth across much of the U.S.”

In November, the Professional category saw strong gains in Management (17,100 jobs), Business and Finance (15,400 jobs) and Computer (12,800 jobs) with a loss in Healthcare (-11,400 jobs). The Services/Production category saw gains in Office/Admin (43,100 jobs), Food (20,100 jobs) and Transportation (16,900 jobs) with a small drop in Sales (-8,800 jobs). Supply and demand rates continue to improve, providing better opportunities for job seekers.

Regionally, the West experienced the largest gains at 56,400 in November with California leading the way with 18,900 new jobs. The Midwest experienced an increase of 49,200 jobs, led by Ohio (+ 8,400 jobs) and Minnesota (+7,000 jobs). The South increased by 48,200 jobs led by Florida and Texas with gains of 10,900 and 10,600 jobs, respectively. The Northeast gained 30,000 jobs led by New York with 8,400 jobs. Only three states lost online jobs during November including South Carolina (-800 jobs), Maine (-500 jobs), and Maryland (-300 jobs).