Advertised Job Vacancies Up a Solid 17 Percent in 2006, The Conference Board Reports Today

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1 News Release For further information: Frank Tortorici (212) Gad Levanon (212) For Release 10 AM ET Jan. 3, 2007 June Shelp (212) Release #5103 Advertised Job Vacancies Up a Solid 17 Percent in 2006, The Conference Board Reports Today Over the month, labor demand declined in 49 out of 50 states and across most major metropolitan areas due to decreased hiring activity in the holiday season Over 270,000 ads posted for Computer/Mathematical jobs in December January 3, 2007 In December there were 3,344,600 online advertised vacancies, a rise of 17 percent from last December, according to The Conference Board Help-Wanted OnLine Data Series released today. While this number is up from last year, it was down by 366,700, or 10 percent from the November level, mostly due to a downward seasonal pattern which began with the Thanksgiving holiday. There were 2.2 advertised vacancies online for every 100 persons in the labor force in December. The monthly decrease in advertised job vacancies was reflected in 49 of the 50 states and was widespread across most major metropolitan areas. The period between Thanksgiving and the end of the year is typically slow in terms of hiring, so it's not surprising that we saw a decline in the number of job ads last month, said Gad Levanon, Economist at The Conference Board. While the economy slowed down in 2006, all in all weaknesses in the labor market have not been widespread. Advertised The Conference Board introduced its newly redesigned Help Wanted Online Data Series (HWOL) with the release of the October 2006 data. The HWOL program is now one of the earliest released economic indicators for the previous month. Geographic coverage has been expanded and now provides detailed monthly data on labor demand (vacancies) for the U.S., the 9 Census regions, the 50 States, and 52 of the largest metro areas. Information for Total Ads has been introduced along with the already existing New Ads data. Economic analysis in the release has been broadened to include both labor supply (unemployment) and labor demand (vacancies); in addition, the program has been expanded to include geographic occupational detail on labor demand along with occupational pay levels. Detailed information on this series is available in the technical notes to this series on The Conference Board website The upcoming schedule of monthly releases is listed in this release as well as the technical notes on the website. The underlying data for The Conference Board HWOL are provided by Wanted Technologies, Inc. Financial support for this series is provided by CareerBuilder.com.

2 vacancies actually grew during the year and unemployment edged lower. Over the year people observed that employment opportunities became more plentiful, according to our Consumer Confidence survey. The National Picture The 3,344,600 unduplicated online advertised vacancies in December include 2,101,400 new ads that did not appear in November, as well as reposted ads from the previous month. During December, total ads fell 10 percent and new ads fell 12 percent from the previous month. Over the year (December 05 December 06) total ads and new ads rose 17 percent and 24 percent, respectively. While this series does not have a sufficiently long history to allow for seasonal adjustment, the monthly decrease of 366,700 in total ads is consistent with seasonal declines in other labor market indicators, and was widespread across the nation. Monthly percent change declines were greatest in the New England, West North Central, and South Atlantic regions. States with the largest declines were Florida (-35,600), New York (-22,000), Massachusetts (-20,000), Pennsylvania (-17,600) and Minnesota (-7,700). Major metropolitan areas contributing to these declines were Boston (-15,900), New York (-15,200), Washington, D.C. (-12,500), Miami (-11,200), and Philadelphia (-7,000). North Dakota, the only state to post an increase this month, inched up 300 ads from last month. The two metro areas for which data is reported separately that posted an increase were Virginia Beach (+2,100) and San Jose (+400). Over the year, the regions with the fastest year over year growth include the West South Central (+37%) and Pacific (+22%) regions. Across the nation, states with the largest over the year gains in advertised vacancies were Oklahoma (+58%), Maine (+50%), Texas (+37%), and New Mexico (+35%). Metropolitan areas with the fastest over the year growth were heavily concentrated in areas where labor markets were disrupted by the 2005 Gulf Coast hurricanes Oklahoma City (+93%), Houston (+60%), and Austin, TX (+54%). 2

3 STATE HIGHLIGHTS California and Texas, the two largest states in the U.S., continue to lead the nation in total ad volume. Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Nevada each posted nearly 4 advertised vacancies for every 100 persons in the labor force. Virginia, Delaware, and Utah are among the states where advertised job vacancies are greater than the number of unemployed workers. Online advertised vacancies in California, the state with the largest labor force in the nation, totaled 590,200 in December. The volume of online advertised vacancies in California was significantly above the next highest states, Texas (254,700), New York (249,800), Florida (229,200) and Illinois (160,700). Top 10 States by Most Ads Total Ads 1 (Thousands) Dec-06 California Texas New York Florida Illinois Pennsylvania New Jersey Massachusetts Virginia Georgia Source: The Conference Board - All rights reserved. 1. Total ads are all unduplicated ads appearing during the reference period. Massachusetts, with 137,000 advertised vacancies in December, posted 4.04 vacancies for every 100 persons in the state labor force, the highest rate of any state in the nation. Rhode Island (3.92), Nevada (3.87) and Delaware (3.48) were close behind in the number of advertised vacancies when adjusted for the size of the state labor force. 3

4 Top 10 States by Highest Ads Rates Total Ads Rate 1 (Percent) Dec-06 Massachusetts 4.04 Rhode Island 3.92 Nevada 3.87 Delaware 3.48 Connecticut 3.38 Virginia 3.37 Alaska 3.35 California 3.3 Arizona 3.29 Colorado 3.24 Source: The Conference Board - All rights reserved. 1. Ad rates represent the number of ads per 100 persons in the civilian labor force. Looking at the number of unemployed in relation to the number of advertised vacancies provides an indication of available job opportunities for the unemployed, said Mr. Levanon. Using the latest unemployment data available from the Federal Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) and computing the supply/demand ratio (unemployed/advertised vacancies), the top states where there was less than one unemployed person looking for work for every ad included Virginia (0.78), Delaware (0.84), Utah (0.84), Wyoming (0.85), South Dakota (0.91), Nevada (0.94), Rhode Island (0.97), and Massachusetts (0.99). States where the number of unemployed persons looking for work significantly exceeded the level of online advertised demand included Mississippi (5.91), Michigan (4.49), and Kentucky (3.38). Top 10 States by Lowest S/D Rates Supply/Demand Rate 1 Nov-06 Virginia 0.78 Delaware 0.84 Utah 0.84 Wyoming 0.85 South Dakota 0.91 Nevada 0.94 Rhode Island 0.97 Massachusetts 0.99 Montana 1.02 Connecticut 1.07 Source: The Conference Board - All rights reserved. 1. Supply/Demand rate is Unemployed divided by total ads and reflects the latest unemployment data available. 4

5 OCCUPATIONAL FOCUS Managers, the highest paying occupation, accounted for nearly 384,000 online ad postings this month. Computer/Mathematical occupations are the second highest paid in the nation. In December, the occupations with the most advertised online vacancies nationally were Management (383,900), Business and Financial Operations (296,300), followed by Computer and Mathematical occupations (273,700). Not only are these jobs in demand, but many of them are high paying jobs, said Mr. Levanon. U.S. Top Ten Demand Occupations and Pay Levels Total Ads (Thousands) Average Hr. Wage¹ Occupation Dec-06 Management $42.52 Business and Financial Operations $27.85 Computer and Mathematical $32.26 Healthcare Practitioners and Technical $28.45 Office and Administrative Support $14.28 Sales and Related $15.77 Architecture and Engineering $30.73 Production 61.9 $14.37 Installation, Maintenance, and Repair 51.8 $18.30 Transportation and Material Moving 50.9 $13.85 Source: The Conference Board - All rights reserved. 1. BLS Occupational Employment Statistics - May 2005 estimates. Computer/Mathematical In December there were 273,700 online advertised vacancies for computer/mathematical jobs. As expected, we find that computer job ads are especially concentrated in the large metro areas, Levanon noted. In terms of the sheer volume of computer/mathematical ads, California (41,600), New York (22,600), and Texas (20,300) were the top states. Metro areas with the largest demand included New York (30,300), Washington, D.C. (21,600), and Los Angeles (14,100). 5

6 State and MSA Ranked by Most Ads for Computer/Mathematical Total Ads Average (Thousands) Hr. Wage¹ Total Ads Average (Thousands) Hr. Wage¹ State Dec-06 MSA Dec-06 California 41.6 $36.44 New York, NY 30.3 $37.03 New York 22.6 $34.38 Washington, DC 21.6 $36.59 Texas 20.3 $32.20 Los Angeles, CA 14.1 $33.73 New Jersey 17.3 $36.63 Chicago, IL 13.9 $32.74 Virginia 17.1 $35.01 San Francisco, CA 12.2 $39.66 Illinois 16.0 $31.95 Boston, MA 12.1 $37.76 Massachusetts 13.4 $37.23 Atlanta, GA 10.4 $31.74 Florida 13.0 $28.14 Dallas, TX 10.1 $33.66 Pennsylvania 11.8 $30.18 Philadelphia, PA 9.2 $32.24 Georgia 11.3 $30.51 Seattle-Tacoma, WA 7.7 $37.35 Source: The Conference Board - All rights reserved. 1. BLS Occupational Employment Statistics - May 2005 estimates. NEW YORK, LOS ANGELES LEAD MAJOR METRO AREAS There are nearly two ads for every job seeker in Washington, D.C. San Jose and San Francisco have the highest number of job ads per 100 in the labor force. The top 10 metro areas where the number of unemployed persons looking for work was less than the number of advertised vacancies includes a wide range of areas across the nation Washington, DC, Salt Lake City, San Francisco, San Diego, San Jose, Boston, Seattle, Richmond, Austin, and Tampa. MSA Ranked by Most Ads, Highest Rates and Lowest S/D Rates Total Ads (Thousands) Total Ads Rate (Percent) Supply/Demand Rate Dec-06 Dec-06 Oct-06 New York, NY San Jose, CA 6.24 Washington, DC 0.53 Los Angeles, CA San Francisco, CA 5.45 Salt Lake City, UT 0.58 Washington, DC Washington, DC 4.92 San Francisco, CA 0.65 Chicago, IL Boston, MA 4.49 San Diego, CA 0.67 San Francisco, CA Austin, TX 4.29 San Jose, CA 0.68 Boston, MA San Diego, CA 4.25 Boston, MA 0.71 Dallas, TX 87.0 Milwaukee, WI 4.17 Seattle-Tacoma, WA 0.73 Philadelphia, PA 84.7 Hartford, CT 4.01 Richmond, VA 0.79 Atlanta, GA 81.6 Denver, CO 3.94 Austin, TX 0.82 Miami, FL 80.5 Las Vegas, NV 3.91 Tampa, FL 0.83 Source: The Conference Board - All rights reserved. Supply/Demand rate is Unemployed divided by total ads and reflects the latest unemployment data available. 6

7 Two of the nation s largest metropolitan areas, New York and Los Angeles, were first and second in the absolute volume of advertised job vacancies in December, with 259,500 and 219,900, respectively. The top two metro areas in terms of advertised vacancies per 100 persons in the local labor force were San Jose (6.24) and San Francisco (5.45), followed by Washington, DC (4.92), and Boston (4.49). Note: The Help Wanted Online Data Series is a new developmental program with research and evaluation studies ongoing in a number of areas. The comparisons in the attached tables between total ads and total unemployed at the various geographic levels are overall counts and it cannot be inferred that the detailed occupation or geographic location of the unemployed matches the occupation or geographic location of the vacancy. Additionally, there may be differences in the way the unemployed person describes his occupation versus the way an employer may describe the same job. The Conference Board welcomes interested user feedback on this important new data set but also urges users to use caution in the analysis and interpretation of the data. Publication Schedule, Help Wanted Online Data Series Data for the Month Release Date Data for the Month Release Date Jan-07 January 31, 2007** Jul-07 July 30, 2007 Feb-07 March 5, 2007 Aug-07 September 5, 2007** Mar-07 April 2, 2007 Sep-07 October 1, 2007 Apr-07 April 30, 2007 Oct-07 October 31, 2007** May-07 May 30, 2007** Nov-07 December 3, 2007 Jun-07 July 2, 2007 **Wednesday release due to holidays or data availability. 7

8 PROGRAM NOTES THE NEW ONLINE JOB SERIES The Conference Board Help-Wanted Online Data Series measures the number of new, firsttime 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 to be developmental. As a not-forprofit business research organization, The Conference Board is publishing the early years 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 at: The underlying data for this series is provided by Wanted Technologies, Inc. CareerBuilder.com provides financial support for the series. Additional information on the Bureau of Labor Statistics data used in this release can be found on the BLS website, THE CONFERENCE BOARD Non-partisan and not-for-profit, The Conference Board is the world s leading business membership and research organization. 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 CareerBuilder.com CareerBuilder.com is the nation s largest online job site with more than 20 million unique visitors and over 1 million jobs. 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 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 8

9 Table 1: National/Regional Total Ads and New Ads (Levels), Not Seasonally Adjusted Total Ads 1 Percent New Ads 2 Percent (Thousands) Change (Thousands) Change OTY OTY Location 3 Dec-05 Nov-06 Dec-06 Dec Dec-05 Nov-06 Dec-06 Dec United States 2, , , % 1, , , % New England % % Middle Atlantic % % South Atlantic % % East North Central % % East South Central % % West North Central % % West South Central % % Mountain % % Pacific % % Source: The Conference Board 1. Total ads are all unduplicated ads appearing during the reference period. This figure includes ads from the previous month that have been reposted as well as new ads. Total ads appear only once per defined geographic area. 2. New ads are all unduplicated ads which did not appear during the previous reference period. An online help wanted ad is counted as "New" only in the month it first appears and only once per defined geographic area. 3. Regions are as defined by the U.S. Census Bureau. Table 2: National/Regional Total Ads and New Ads (Rates), Not Seasonally Adjusted Total Ads Rate 1 New Ads Rate 1 (Percent) (Percent) Location 2 Dec-05 Nov-06 Dec-06 Dec-05 Nov-06 Dec-06 United States New England Middle Atlantic South Atlantic East North Central East South Central West North Central West South Central Mountain Pacific Source: The Conference Board 1. Ad rates are calculated as a percent of the most currently available BLS civilian labor force data. Ad rates represent the number of ads per 100 participants in the civilian labor force. 2. Regions are as defined by the U.S. Census Bureau The Conference Board. All rights reserved. 9

10 Table 3: State Total Ads and New Ads (Levels), Not Seasonally Adjusted Total Ads 1 Percent New Ads 2 Percent (Thousands) Change (Thousands) Change OTY OTY Location Dec-05 Nov-06 Dec-06 Dec Dec-05 Nov-06 Dec-06 Dec United States 2, , , % 1, , , % Alabama % % Alaska % % Arizona % % Arkansas % % California % % Colorado % % Connecticut % % Delaware % % Florida % % Georgia % % Hawaii % % Idaho % % Illinois % % Indiana % % Iowa % % Kansas % % Kentucky % % Louisiana % % Maine % % Maryland % % Massachusetts % % Michigan % % Minnesota % % Mississippi % % Missouri % % Montana % % Nebraska % % Nevada % % New Hampshire % % New Jersey % % New Mexico % % New York % % North Carolina % % North Dakota % % Ohio % % Oklahoma % % Oregon % % Pennsylvania % % Rhode Island % % South Carolina % % South Dakota % % Tennessee % % Texas % % Utah % % Vermont % % Virginia % % Washington % % West Virginia % % Wisconsin % % Wyoming % % Source: The Conference Board 1. Total ads are all unduplicated ads appearing during the reference period. This figure includes ads from the previous month that have been reposted as well as new ads. Total ads appear only once per defined geographic area. 2. New ads are all unduplicated ads which did not appear during the previous reference period. An online help wanted ad is counted as "New" only in the month it first appears and only once per defined geographic area The Conference Board. All rights reserved. 10

11 Table 4: MSA Total Ads and New Ads (Levels), Not Seasonally Adjusted Total Ads 1 Percent New Ads 2 (Thousands) Change (Thousands) Percent Change Location 3 Dec-05 Nov-06 Dec-06 Dec Dec-05 Nov-06 Dec-06 Dec Birmingham, AL % % Phoenix, AZ % % Tucson, AZ % % Los Angeles, CA % % Riverside, CA % % Sacramento, CA % % San Diego, CA % % San Francisco, CA % % San Jose, CA % % Denver, CO % % Hartford, CT % % Washington, DC % % Jacksonville, FL % % Miami, FL % % Orlando, FL % % Tampa, FL % % Atlanta, GA % % Honolulu, HI % % Chicago, IL % % Indianapolis, IN % % Louisville, KY % % New Orleans, LA % % Baltimore, MD % % Boston, MA % % Detroit, MI % % Minneapolis-St. Paul, MN % % Kansas City, MO % % St. Louis, MO % % Las Vegas, NV % % Buffalo, NY % % New York, NY % % Rochester, NY % % Charlotte, NC % % Cincinnati, OH % % Cleveland, OH % % Columbus, OH % % Oklahoma City, OK % % Portland, OR % % Philadelphia, PA % % Pittsburgh, PA % % Providence, RI % % Memphis, TN % % Nashville, TN % % Austin, TX % % Dallas, TX % % Houston, TX % % San Antonio, TX % % Salt Lake City, UT % % Richmond, VA % % Virginia Beach, VA % % Seattle-Tacoma, WA % % Milwaukee, WI % % Source: The Conference Board 1. Total ads are all unduplicated ads appearing during the reference period. This figure includes ads from the previous month that have been reposted as well as new ads. Total ads appear only once per defined geographic area. 2. New ads are all unduplicated ads which did not appear during the previous reference period. An online help wanted ad is counted as "New" only in the month it first appears and only once per defined geographic area. 3. Metropolitan areas use the 2005 OMB county-based MSA definitions The Conference Board. All rights reserved. 11

12 Table 5: State Labor Supply/Labor Demand Indicators Total Ads Rate 1 Unemployment Unemployed Total Ads Supply/ (Percent) Rate 2 (Thousands) (Thousands) Demand Rate 3 Location Dec-05 Nov-06 Dec-06 Nov-06 Nov-06 Nov-06 Nov-06 United States , , Alabama Alaska Arizona Arkansas California Colorado Connecticut Delaware Florida Georgia Hawaii Idaho Illinois Indiana Iowa Kansas Kentucky Louisiana Maine Maryland Massachusetts Michigan Minnesota Mississippi Missouri Montana Nebraska Nevada New Hampshire New Jersey New Mexico New York North Carolina North Dakota Ohio Oklahoma Oregon Pennsylvania Rhode Island South Carolina South Dakota Tennessee Texas Utah Vermont Virginia Washington West Virginia Wisconsin Wyoming Source: The Conference Board 1. Total ads rate is calculated as a percent of the most currently available BLS civilian labor force data. Ad rates represent the number of ads per 100 persons in the civilian labor force. 2. Unemployment data are from the Bureau of Labor Statistics Current Population Statistics and Local Area Unemployment Statistics programs. 3. Supply/Demand rate is Unemployed divided by the number of total ads for the designated month The Conference Board. All rights reserved. 12

13 Table 6: MSA Labor Supply /Labor Demand Indicators Total Ads Rate 1 Unemployment Unemployed Total Ads Supply/ (Percent) Rate 2 (Thousands) (Thousands) Demand Rate 3 Location 4 Dec-05 Nov-06 Dec-06 Oct-06 Oct-06 Oct-06 Oct-06 Birmingham, AL Phoenix, AZ Tucson, AZ Los Angeles, CA Riverside, CA Sacramento, CA San Diego, CA San Francisco, CA San Jose, CA Denver, CO Hartford, CT Washington, DC Jacksonville, FL Miami, FL Orlando, FL Tampa, FL Atlanta, GA Honolulu, HI Chicago, IL Indianapolis, IN Louisville, KY New Orleans, LA Baltimore, MD Boston, MA Detroit, MI Minneapolis-St. Paul, MN Kansas City, MO St. Louis, MO Las Vegas, NV Buffalo, NY New York, NY Rochester, NY Charlotte, NC Cincinnati, OH Cleveland, OH Columbus, OH Oklahoma City, OK Portland, OR Philadelphia, PA Pittsburgh, PA Providence, RI Memphis, TN Nashville, TN Austin, TX Dallas, TX Houston, TX San Antonio, TX Salt Lake City, UT Richmond, VA Virginia Beach, VA Seattle-Tacoma, WA Milwaukee, WI Source: The Conference Board 1. Total ads rate is calculated as a percent of the most currently available Bureau of Labor Statistics civilian labor force data. 2. Unemployment data are from the Bureau of Labor Statistics CPS and LAUS programs. 3. Supply/Demand rate is Unemployed divided by the number of total ads for the designated month. 4. The Conference Board uses the OMB county-based MSA definitions for its data whereas the Bureau of Labor Statistics uses the OMB alternative NECTA (New England City and Town Areas) MSA definition. This will result in small comparison differences for some metropolitan areas in New England states The Conference Board. All rights reserved. 13

14 Unemployed 3 Total Ads Table 7: National Labor Supply/Labor Demand by Occupation 2 (Thousands) (Thousands) Average Occupation 1 Dec-05 Nov-06 Dec-06 Nov-06 Hr. Wage 4 Total 2, , , ,576 $18.21 Management $42.52 Business and financial operations $27.85 Computer and mathematical $32.26 Architecture and engineering $30.73 Life, physical, and social science $27.90 Community and social services $18.04 Legal $38.98 Education, training, and library $20.89 Arts, design, entertainment, sports, and media $21.30 Healthcare practitioner and technical $28.45 Healthcare support $11.47 Protective service $17.19 Food preparation and serving related $8.58 Building and grounds cleaning and maintenance $10.55 Personal care and service $10.67 Sales and related $15.77 Office and administrative support $14.28 Farming, fishing, and forestry $10.10 Construction and extraction $18.39 Installation, maintenance, and repair $18.30 Production $14.37 Transportation and material moving $13.85 Source: The Conference Board 1. Occupational categories use the 2000 OMB Standard Occupational Classification system (SOC definitions). 2. Occupational coding of ads is being improved on a continuous basis. Approximately 2/3 of all ads for the most recent month have been assigned SOC occupational codes. Coding improvements have an impact on measures of change from one time period to another and The Conference Board cautions against using occupational change measures from the HWOL program until the improvement process is substantially completed. 3. Unemployment data are from the Bureau of Labor Statistics Current Population Statistics program. 4. Wage data are from the BLS Occupational Employment Statistics (OES) program's May 2005 estimates The Conference Board. All rights reserved. 14

15 Table 8: State Occupational Demand and Pay Management and Business/Financial 1 Professional & Related Service Total Ads Total Ads Total Ads Average Average Average Location Dec-06 Hr. Wage 2 Dec-06 Hr. Wage 2 Dec-06 Hr. Wage 2 United States $ $ $10.65 Alabama 5,674.0 $ ,007.0 $ ,020.0 $8.82 Alaska 1,599.0 $ ,901.0 $ $12.98 Arizona 16,858.0 $ ,856.0 $ ,607.0 $10.39 Arkansas 3,038.0 $ ,533.0 $ $8.48 California $ $ ,180.0 $11.92 Colorado 15,079.0 $ ,867.0 $ ,308.0 $11.08 Connecticut 15,867.0 $ ,885.0 $ ,650.0 $12.73 Delaware 2,934.0 $ ,393.0 $ $10.92 Florida 40,243.0 $ ,860.0 $ ,970.0 $10.36 Georgia 23,518.0 $ ,486.0 $ ,683.0 $9.66 Hawaii 2,328.0 $ ,745.0 $ $11.86 Idaho 2,382.0 $ ,890.0 $ $9.39 Illinois 38,816.0 $ ,692.0 $ ,570.0 $11.34 Indiana 9,076.0 $ ,301.0 $ ,552.0 $9.68 Iowa 6,063.0 $ ,418.0 $ ,198.0 $9.46 Kansas 6,005.0 $ ,068.0 $ ,201.0 $9.45 Kentucky 5,959.0 $ ,967.0 $ ,333.0 $9.28 Louisiana 5,848.0 $ ,241.0 $ ,889.0 $8.70 Maine 2,191.0 $ ,200.0 $ $10.17 Maryland 20,995.0 $ ,556.0 $ ,343.0 $11.19 Massachusetts 30,084.0 $ ,169.0 $ ,286.0 $12.62 Michigan 13,261.0 $ ,841.0 $ ,230.0 $10.84 Minnesota 16,363.0 $ ,740.0 $ ,736.0 $10.86 Mississippi 2,660.0 $ ,701.0 $ $8.53 Missouri 10,624.0 $ ,961.0 $ ,970.0 $9.77 Montana 1,321.0 $ ,082.0 $ $9.03 Nebraska 5,168.0 $ ,117.0 $ $9.51 Nevada 8,773.0 $ ,828.0 $ ,276.0 $10.84 New Hampshire 2,692.0 $ ,971.0 $ $10.97 New Jersey 33,915.0 $ ,212.0 $ ,715.0 $12.61 New Mexico 4,166.0 $ ,381.0 $ $9.17 New York 61,937.0 $ ,489.0 $ ,269.0 $12.55 North Carolina 15,356.0 $ ,997.0 $ ,123.0 $9.61 North Dakota 1,154.0 $ ,796.0 $ $9.17 Ohio 22,335.0 $ ,447.0 $ ,674.0 $10.08 Oklahoma 5,092.0 $ ,362.0 $ ,450.0 $8.89 Oregon 10,656.0 $ ,171.0 $ ,043.0 $11.14 Pennsylvania 37,773.0 $ ,866.0 $ ,504.0 $10.30 Rhode Island 7,665.0 $ ,343.0 $ $11.59 South Carolina 7,303.0 $ ,170.0 $ ,037.0 $9.12 South Dakota 1,884.0 $ ,373.0 $ $8.79 Tennessee 10,448.0 $ ,999.0 $ ,014.0 $9.37 Texas 53,838.0 $ ,515.0 $ ,823.0 $9.40 Utah 7,287.0 $ ,498.0 $ ,876.0 $9.86 Vermont 1,418.0 $ ,487.0 $ $10.90 Virginia 34,261.0 $ ,223.0 $ ,805.0 $10.51 Washington 17,050.0 $ ,630.0 $ ,452.0 $12.12 West Virginia 1,715.0 $ ,134.0 $ $8.56 Wisconsin 13,107.0 $ ,440.0 $ ,373.0 $10.28 Wyoming 1,218.0 $ ,660.0 $ $9.42 Source: The Conference Board 1. The six occupational categories in tables 8 and 9 are the SOC manual's Intermediate and High-Level Aggregations. 2. Wage data are from the BLS Occupational Employment Statistics program's May 2005 estimates. The OES major occupational group wage data has been weighted to form the higher level aggregates The Conference Board. All rights reserved. 15

16 Table 8: State Occupational Demand and Pay, continued Sales and Office Construction and Maintenance Production and Transportation Total Ads Total Ads Total Ads Average Average Average Location Dec-06 Hr. Wage 1 Dec-06 Hr. Wage 1 Dec-06 Hr. Wage 1 United States $ ,233.0 $ $14.12 Alabama 4,404.0 $ $ ,344.0 $12.66 Alaska 1,599.0 $ $ $20.00 Arizona 14,455.0 $ ,689.0 $ ,784.0 $13.72 Arkansas 2,649.0 $ $ ,030.0 $12.50 California 87,359.0 $ ,117.0 $ ,245.0 $13.90 Colorado 12,504.0 $ ,970.0 $ ,800.0 $14.87 Connecticut 7,885.0 $ ,189.0 $ ,758.0 $15.54 Delaware 2,149.0 $ $ $14.12 Florida 33,051.0 $ ,664.0 $ ,624.0 $12.66 Georgia 13,707.0 $ ,735.0 $ ,583.0 $13.51 Hawaii 2,135.0 $ $ $14.39 Idaho 2,692.0 $ $ $12.63 Illinois 21,179.0 $ ,573.0 $ ,414.0 $14.44 Indiana 6,500.0 $ ,341.0 $ ,223.0 $14.64 Iowa 3,963.0 $ $ ,481.0 $13.65 Kansas 4,524.0 $ $ ,175.0 $13.88 Kentucky 4,839.0 $ ,068.0 $ ,804.0 $13.98 Louisiana 5,151.0 $ ,507.0 $ ,452.0 $13.97 Maine 2,147.0 $ $ $13.62 Maryland 12,463.0 $ ,570.0 $ ,306.0 $14.41 Massachusetts 17,002.0 $ ,002.0 $ ,365.0 $15.54 Michigan 8,830.0 $ ,468.0 $ ,450.0 $16.55 Minnesota 11,247.0 $ ,694.0 $ ,830.0 $15.49 Mississippi 2,123.0 $ $ $12.26 Missouri 7,607.0 $ ,134.0 $ ,565.0 $13.79 Montana 1,722.0 $ $ $13.44 Nebraska 3,165.0 $ $ $13.96 Nevada 8,084.0 $ ,625.0 $ ,431.0 $13.83 New Hampshire 2,428.0 $ $ $14.52 New Jersey 18,584.0 $ ,991.0 $ ,173.0 $14.55 New Mexico 2,585.0 $ $ $13.29 New York 31,127.0 $ ,397.0 $ ,661.0 $15.21 North Carolina 9,800.0 $ ,223.0 $ ,497.0 $13.10 North Dakota 1,473.0 $ $ $13.64 Ohio 13,746.0 $ ,901.0 $ ,752.0 $14.57 Oklahoma 4,155.0 $ ,344.0 $ ,696.0 $12.99 Oregon 8,503.0 $ ,153.0 $ ,737.0 $14.19 Pennsylvania 18,414.0 $ ,854.0 $ ,057.0 $14.35 Rhode Island 2,507.0 $ $ $13.82 South Carolina 6,213.0 $ ,747.0 $ ,267.0 $13.22 South Dakota 1,729.0 $ $ $12.05 Tennessee 7,006.0 $ ,535.0 $ ,636.0 $13.46 Texas 34,615.0 $ ,660.0 $ ,814.0 $13.40 Utah 6,581.0 $ ,007.0 $ ,385.0 $13.83 Vermont 1,059.0 $ $ $13.79 Virginia 16,329.0 $ ,384.0 $ ,887.0 $14.05 Washington 13,081.0 $ ,827.0 $ ,287.0 $16.11 West Virginia 1,790.0 $ $ $13.11 Wisconsin 11,113.0 $ ,342.0 $ ,584.0 $14.58 Wyoming $ $ $16.03 Source: The Conference Board 1. Wage data are from the BLS Occupational Employment Statistics program's May 2005 estimates. The OES major occupational group wage data has been weighted to form the higher level aggregates The Conference Board. All rights reserved. 16

17 Table 9: MSA Occupational Demand and Pay Management and Business/Financial 1 Professional & Related Service Total Ads Total Ads Total Ads Average Average Average Location Dec-06 Hr. Wage 2 Dec-06 Hr. Wage 2 Dec-06 Hr. Wage 2 United States $ $ $10.65 Birmingham, AL 1,924.0 $ ,931.0 $ $9.50 Phoenix, AZ 12,782.0 $ ,851.0 $ ,267.0 $10.55 Tucson, AZ 1,907.0 $ ,818.0 $ $10.02 Los Angeles, CA 42,895.0 $ ,793.0 $ ,212.0 $11.61 Riverside, CA 5,486.0 $ ,299.0 $ ,610.0 $11.36 Sacramento, CA 5,693.0 $ ,236.0 $ ,603.0 $11.73 San Diego, CA 10,566.0 $ ,901.0 $ ,452.0 $11.13 San Francisco, CA 27,757.0 $ ,505.0 $ ,792.0 $13.47 San Jose, CA 13,791.0 $ ,995.0 $ ,111.0 $13.02 Denver, CO 10,117.0 $ ,239.0 $ ,155.0 $11.51 Hartford, CT 5,723.0 $ ,361.0 $ $12.47 Washington, DC 37,305.0 $ ,643.0 $ ,824.0 $12.09 Jacksonville, FL 3,396.0 $ ,833.0 $ $9.99 Miami, FL 13,528.0 $ ,789.0 $ ,851.0 $10.91 Orlando, FL 5,451.0 $ ,535.0 $ ,079.0 $10.02 Tampa, FL 7,666.0 $ ,695.0 $ ,994.0 $10.27 Atlanta, GA 18,456.0 $ ,032.0 $ ,234.0 $10.29 Honolulu, HI 1,285.0 $ ,425.0 $ $11.59 Chicago, IL 30,238.0 $ ,626.0 $ ,716.0 $11.60 Indianapolis, IN 4,176.0 $ ,981.0 $ $10.21 Louisville, KY 2,930.0 $ ,071.0 $ $9.75 New Orleans, LA 2,353.0 $ ,654.0 $ ,179.0 $8.94 Baltimore, MD 9,375.0 $ ,696.0 $ ,779.0 $11.26 Boston, MA 23,929.0 $ ,190.0 $ ,825.0 $12.84 Detroit, MI 6,730.0 $ ,944.0 $ $11.36 Minneapolis-St. Paul, MN 13,494.0 $ ,074.0 $ ,658.0 $11.29 Kansas City, MO 5,388.0 $ ,973.0 $ $10.28 St. Louis, MO 5,779.0 $ ,992.0 $ ,124.0 $10.53 Las Vegas, NV 5,741.0 $ ,846.0 $ ,240.0 $10.99 Buffalo, NY 2,052.0 $ ,165.0 $ $10.41 New York, NY 65,043.0 $ ,271.0 $ ,997.0 $13.23 Rochester, NY 1,647.0 $ ,265.0 $ $10.89 Charlotte, NC 5,798.0 $ ,572.0 $ $10.31 Cincinnati, OH 5,711.0 $ ,940.0 $ $10.43 Cleveland, OH 6,106.0 $ ,000.0 $ $10.63 Columbus, OH 5,766.0 $ ,559.0 $ $10.43 Oklahoma City, OK 1,970.0 $ ,058.0 $ $9.21 Portland, OR 6,139.0 $ ,219.0 $ ,369.0 $11.64 Philadelphia, PA 19,224.0 $ ,574.0 $ ,635.0 $11.41 Pittsburgh, PA 6,487.0 $ ,112.0 $ $9.88 Providence, RI 3,875.0 $ ,591.0 $ $11.62 Memphis, TN 2,532.0 $ ,200.0 $ $9.92 Nashville, TN 3,288.0 $ ,216.0 $ $9.84 Austin, TX 5,558.0 $ ,847.0 $ ,545.0 $9.92 Dallas, TX 18,723.0 $ ,816.0 $ ,708.0 $10.22 Houston, TX 15,347.0 $ ,505.0 $ ,485.0 $9.74 San Antonio, TX 3,459.0 $ ,828.0 $ $9.03 Salt Lake City, UT 3,463.0 $ ,000.0 $ ,184.0 $10.40 Richmond, VA 4,166.0 $ ,294.0 $ $10.53 Virginia Beach, VA 7,520.0 $ ,628.0 $ $9.79 Seattle-Tacoma, WA 12,307.0 $ ,161.0 $ ,598.0 $12.69 Milwaukee, WI 6,496.0 $ ,497.0 $ ,241.0 $10.69 Source: The Conference Board 1.The six occupational categories in tables 8 and 9 are the SOC manual's Intermediate and High-Level Aggregations. 2. Wage data are from the BLS OES program' s May 2005 estimates. The OES major occupational group wage data has been weighted to form the higher level aggregates The Conference Board. All rights reserved. 17

18 Table 9: MSA Occupational Demand and Pay, continued Sales and Office Construction and Maintenance Production and Transportation Total Ads Total Ads Total Ads Average Average Average Location Dec-06 Hr. Wage 1 Dec-06 Hr. Wage 1 Dec-06 Hr. Wage 1 United States $ ,233.0 $ $14.12 Birmingham, AL 1,944.0 $ $ $13.22 Phoenix, AZ 11,351.0 $ ,927.0 $ ,975.0 $13.98 Tucson, AZ 1,969.0 $ $ $13.02 Los Angeles, CA 38,100.0 $ ,379.0 $ ,415.0 $13.09 Riverside, CA 5,299.0 $ ,110.0 $ ,739.0 $13.13 Sacramento, CA 6,505.0 $ ,015.0 $ ,290.0 $14.26 San Diego, CA 10,458.0 $ ,752.0 $ ,816.0 $13.47 San Francisco, CA 15,820.0 $ ,832.0 $ ,182.0 $16.96 San Jose, CA 5,787.0 $ $ $16.48 Denver, CO 8,166.0 $ ,677.0 $ ,654.0 $15.41 Hartford, CT 3,142.0 $ $ $15.68 Washington, DC 17,642.0 $ ,518.0 $ ,697.0 $15.64 Jacksonville, FL 2,721.0 $ $ $13.81 Miami, FL 12,567.0 $ ,818.0 $ ,736.0 $13.02 Orlando, FL 4,304.0 $ $ $12.57 Tampa, FL 7,636.0 $ ,481.0 $ ,699.0 $11.99 Atlanta, GA 10,324.0 $ ,672.0 $ ,905.0 $14.70 Honolulu, HI 1,322.0 $ $ $14.64 Chicago, IL 18,135.0 $ ,020.0 $ ,535.0 $14.66 Indianapolis, IN 3,326.0 $ $ $14.66 Louisville, KY 2,542.0 $ $ $14.69 New Orleans, LA 2,514.0 $ $ $13.65 Baltimore, MD 6,686.0 $ ,231.0 $ ,272.0 $14.67 Boston, MA 13,918.0 $ ,341.0 $ ,279.0 $16.02 Detroit, MI 4,029.0 $ $ $18.20 Minneapolis-St. Paul, MN 8,701.0 $ ,072.0 $ ,687.0 $16.58 Kansas City, MO 4,280.0 $ $ $14.44 St. Louis, MO 4,355.0 $ $ $15.08 Las Vegas, NV 6,035.0 $ ,074.0 $ $13.48 Buffalo, NY 2,164.0 $ $ $14.91 New York, NY 32,384.0 $ ,129.0 $ ,220.0 $15.35 Rochester, NY 1,645.0 $ $ $13.88 Charlotte, NC 3,590.0 $ $ $14.36 Cincinnati, OH 3,865.0 $ $ $14.81 Cleveland, OH 3,875.0 $ $ ,057.0 $15.14 Columbus, OH 3,522.0 $ $ $14.05 Oklahoma City, OK 2,280.0 $ $ $13.64 Portland, OR 6,676.0 $ ,683.0 $ ,237.0 $14.89 Philadelphia, PA 11,671.0 $ ,662.0 $ ,191.0 $15.35 Pittsburgh, PA 4,428.0 $ $ $14.25 Providence, RI 2,520.0 $ $ $13.75 Memphis, TN 1,830.0 $ $ $14.11 Nashville, TN 2,704.0 $ $ $14.15 Austin, TX 5,095.0 $ $ $12.92 Dallas, TX 12,972.0 $ ,281.0 $ ,833.0 $13.85 Houston, TX 9,365.0 $ ,403.0 $ ,882.0 $14.75 San Antonio, TX 3,516.0 $ $ $11.62 Salt Lake City, UT 4,586.0 $ ,318.0 $ ,514.0 $14.30 Richmond, VA 3,194.0 $ $ $13.92 Virginia Beach, VA 2,465.0 $ $ $13.96 Seattle-Tacoma, WA 9,268.0 $ ,706.0 $ ,165.0 $16.94 Milwaukee, WI 4,931.0 $ $ ,560.0 $14.91 Source: The Conference Board 1. Wage data are from the BLS OES program' s May 2005 estimates. The OES major occupational group wage data has been weighted to form the higher level aggregates The Conference Board. All rights reserved. 18

19 The Conference Board Help Wanted OnLine Data Series Technical Notes Background The Conference Board began publication of the Help Wanted Online Data Series (HWOL) in July 2005 as a developmental series and initiated a major expansion of the program in October This new developmental program provides data on online advertised job demand and is intended to compliment its long-standing Help Wanted Advertising Index of newspaper print advertising. The Help Wanted Online Data Series fills a critical gap in the current U.S. economic indicators by providing timely monthly measures of labor demand (advertised vacancies) at the national, regional, State and metropolitan area. These monthly measures are comparable in timing and geographic detail to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) monthly measures of labor supply (unemployment). The Conference Board HWOL program is one of the earliest published monthly indicators of economic activity in the previous month, with data publication centered around the 1 st of each month. The program provides measures of levels and rates for both Total Online Ads and New Online Ads. The online vacancy program is one of the few economic indicators to provide occupational detail, with national estimates published at the major occupational group level and State and MSA estimates at higher level aggregates. To provide users with a broader analytical view of labor supply and labor demand, the press release includes the most recently available data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics on labor supply (unemployment) along with average wage levels for the occupational detail. Coverage The HWOL program is targeted to cover the full universe of all online advertised vacancies which are posted directly on internet job boards or through newspaper online ads. At present, ads on corporate web sites for their own jobs are excluded from coverage. However, since a number of job boards scrape these corporate websites these ads may also appear in the HWOL data count.. Concepts and Definitions Survey Reference Period. The HWOL program uses a mid-month survey reference period. Data for October would be the sum of all posted ads from September 14th through October 13 th. This reference period was aligned to the BLS unemployment job search time period to provide for a more accurate comparison of labor supply and labor demand in the U.S. economy. New ads. New ads are all unduplicated ads which did not appear in the previous reference period. An ad is counted as new only in the month it first appears. Total ads. Total ads are all unduplicated ads appearing in the reference period. This figure includes both new ads and reposted ads. 19