by worldatwork.org

Sept. 3, 2008 — More than 3 million new job vacancies were posted online in August, according to The Conference Board Help-Wanted OnLine Data Series (HWOL). The remaining 1.8 million unduplicated vacancies were reposted ads from July. The total August vacancies represent a 7% increase from July (314,300 ads) and new vacancies increased 4% (105,300 ads). Total ads rose by 4% compared to the same time period last year, while new ads were down by less than 1%.

According to HWOL, job seekers in Alaska, Wyoming and Massachusetts continue to find a large number of advertised vacancies; Alaska had 6.09 online advertised vacancies for every100 people in the state labor force, which is the highest rate in the nation. Wyoming had 4.63 advertised vacancies for every 100 people, and Massachusetts had 4.52.

Rounding out the top 10 states with the highest ad rates are North Dakota (4.45), Colorado (4.23), Nebraska (4.18), Washington (4.11), Utah (4.07), Delaware (4.44) and Maryland (4.28).

Texas was up 5.4% (366,100) and New York was up 3.7% (294,900) from their year-ago levels. The state with the largest workforce in the nation, California, showed a 12% drop (80,000), though, from its August 2007 level.

However, many states are experiencing a job shortage. The number of unemployed people in Tennessee, Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan and Mississippi significantly exceeds the number of advertised online job postings.

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