Reuters reports that online job postings dropped 8% in February. 2.16 million job postings were posted in January but in February the number dropped to 1.99 million. Both of these were higher than the 1.63 million jobs posted in Decemeber.
"The labor market picture remains a bit cloudy," said Ken Goldstein, labor economist with The Conference Board. "There are some bright spots where the job market may be picking up, but it's by no means a clear picture."
Online job ads declined in February in all nine census regions. The largest decline was in the East South Central region including the states Alabama, Kentucky, Mississippi, and Tennessee. This region saw a 9.1 percent dip in online job ads.
Adjusting job ads for the size of the local labor force, February's data shows San Diego leading with 3.17 jobs per 100 persons, while Detroit remains behind all the metropolitan areas at 0.68 online job ads per 100 persons.
The Conference Board Help-Wanted Online Data Series measures the number of new, first-time online job ads posted on more than 1,200 major Internet job boards and smaller job boards that serve niche market and smaller geographic areas.
It is unclear how significant these numbers are but a drop of 8% is probably a big enough drop to indicate a reduction in the amount of jobs being offered.
