For further information: Frank Tortorici (212) Gad Levanon (212) For Immediate Release June Shelp (212)

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1 News Release For further information: Frank Tortorici (212) Gad Levanon (212) For Immediate Release June Shelp (212) Advertised Job Vacancies Dip in November, The Conference Board Reports Today Labor demand dips in 39 out of 50 states and across most major metropolitan areas Job demand is strongest in Management and Business/Financial occupations December 4, 2006 Total online job ads declined by 119,800 or 3 percent to 3,711,300 in November, according to The Conference Board Help-Wanted OnLine Data Series released today. There were 2.4 advertised vacancies online for every 100 persons in the labor force in November. The monthly decrease in advertised job vacancies was reflected in 39 of the 50 states and was widespread across most major metropolitan areas. Over the year, online advertised vacancies increased 15% for the nation as a whole. The year over year growth rate in online advertised vacancies has held steady during the last few months, said Gad Levanon, Economist at The Conference Board. Advertised vacancies are not signaling any big shifts in the labor market in the near future. Employment growth is slower now than at the beginning of the year, however our data does not suggest that it will slow further. 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 web site The upcoming schedule of monthly releases is listed in this release as well as the technical notes on the web site. 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 The National Picture The 3,711, 000 unduplicated online advertised vacancies in November include 2,396,000 new ads that did not appear in October, as well as reposted ads from the previous month. During November, total ads dipped 3 percent and new ads declined 5 percent. Over the year (November 05 November 06) total ads and new ads rose 15 percent and 16 percent, respectively. The monthly decrease of 119,800 in total ads reflects a decrease in postings in most states. These declines more than offset modest increases seen in 10 states. In one state (Kansas) the number of advertised vacancies remained unchanged. Monthly declines were greatest in the Pacific, East South Central and New England regions, and included decreases in states such as California (-21,800), Washington (-19,700), Massachusetts (-13,100), Maryland (-6,500), and Oregon (-5,900). Major metropolitan areas contributing to these declines were Seattle (-8,900), Boston (-11,200), and San Diego (-10,900), Portland (-3,600) and Washington, D.C. (-3,100). Modest increases in advertised vacancies over the month were reported in South Dakota (+3,500); Florida (+3,400), which includes Miami (+5,700); and New York (+3,000), where gains in New York City (+8,500), Buffalo (+300), and Rochester (+900) were offset, in part, by declines in other areas of the state. Over the year, the only region to report a decline was the East South Central region (-8%). Across the nation, states with the largest over the year gains in advertised vacancies were Louisiana (+47%), Maine (+41%), Minnesota (+34%), and Oklahoma (+31%). 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; New Orleans (+138%), Oklahoma City (+73%), and Austin, TX (+48%). 2

3 STATE HIGHLIGHTS California and Texas, ranked #1 and #2 in ad volume, but California had over twice the number of ads as Texas Rhode Island and Massachusetts lead the nation with nearly 5 advertised vacancies for every 100 persons in the labor force Virginia, Wyoming, 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 636,600 in November. The volume of online advertised vacancies in California was significantly above the next highest states, Texas (277,900), New York (271,800), Florida (264,800) and Illinois (175,500). Top 10 States by Most Ads Total Ads 1 (Thousands) Nov-06 California Texas New York Florida Illinois Pennsylvania Massachusetts New Jersey Virginia Washington Source: The Conference Board - All rights reserved. 1. Total ads are all unduplicated ads appearing during the reference period. Rhode Island, with just 27,700 advertised vacancies in November, posted 4.8 vacancies for every 100 persons in the state labor force, the highest rate of any state in the nation. Massachusetts (4.65), Nevada (4.39) and Connecticut (3.84) were the next highest 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) Nov-06 Rhode Island 4.80 Massachusetts 4.65 Nevada 4.39 Connecticut 3.84 Delaware 3.76 Virginia 3.66 Alaska 3.64 Arizona 3.63 Oregon 3.59 California 3.56 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 (0.73), Wyoming (0.76), Utah (0.79), Massachusetts (0.83), Nevada (0.84) Hawaii (0.88), and Delaware (0.90). States where the number of unemployed persons looking for work significantly exceeded the level of advertised demand included Mississippi (5.08), Michigan (4.27), and Indiana (3.3). Top 10 States by Lowest S/D Rates Supply/Demand Rate 1 Oct-06 Virginia 0.73 Wyoming 0.76 Utah 0.79 Massachusetts 0.83 Nevada 0.84 Hawaii 0.88 Delaware 0.90 Idaho 0.93 North Dakota 0.94 Rhode Island 0.94 Source: The Conference Board - All rights reserved. 1. Supply/Demand rate is Unemployed divided by total ads. 4

5 OCCUPATIONAL FOCUS Managers, finance, office support in high demand Healthcare jobs also in high demand and make up over 10% of all online ads in some states In November, the occupations with the most advertised online vacancies nationally were Management (410,300), Business and Financial Operations (305,300), followed by Office and Administrative Support (297,200). 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. Wage Occupation Nov-06 Management $42.52 Business and financial operations $27.85 Office and administrative support $14.28 Computer and mathematical $32.26 Healthcare practitioners and technical $28.45 Sales and related $15.77 Architecture and engineering $30.73 Production 69.7 $14.37 Transportation and material moving 61.4 $13.85 Installation, maintenance, and repair 57.8 $18.30 Source: The Conference Board - All rights reserved. Healthcare In November there were 335,600 online advertised vacancies for healthcare jobs including 295,300 for Healthcare Practitioners and Technical occupations and 40,300 Health Support occupations. Healthcare workers are clearly in demand across the nation, Levanon noted, with advertised vacancies in every state. In terms of the sheer volume of healthcare ads, California (53,000),) Florida (31,700), and Texas (25,300) were the top states. Metro areas with the largest demand included Angeles (15,700), New York City (14,200), and Boston 5

6 (12,200), followed by Miami, Phoenix and San Francisco all of which had just over 10,000 ads posted this month for healthcare positions. State and MSA Ranked by Most Ads for Healthcare Total Ads Average Total Ads Average (Thousands) Hr. Wage (Thousands) Hr. Wage State Nov-06 MSA Nov-06 California 53.0 $26.46 Los Angeles, CA 15.7 $26.08 Florida 31.7 $22.28 New York, NY 14.2 $25.62 Texas 25.3 $21.34 Boston, MA 12.2 $26.16 Massachusetts 16.6 $25.40 Miami, FL 10.8 $23.70 New York 16.2 $23.84 Phoenix, AZ 10.5 $23.39 Arizona 16.2 $22.93 San Francisco, CA 10.3 $29.89 Pennsylvania 13.7 $21.54 Washington, DC 9.3 $27.56 Virginia 12.3 $23.03 Chicago, IL 7.8 $22.41 Illinois 11.8 $21.32 Philadelphia, PA 7.5 $24.16 Ohio 11.8 $22.08 Dallas, TX 7.3 $24.33 Source: The Conference Board - All rights reserved. SAN JOSE, SAN FRANCISCO LEAD MAJOR METRO AREAS Washington, D.C. has the lowest supply/demand ratio in the nation and is ranked third in ads rate behind San Jose and San Francisco New York and Los Angeles lead all metro areas in total advertised vacancies 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, Phoenix, Tampa, and Austin. MSA Ranked by Most Ads, Highest Rates and Lowest S/D Rates Total Ads (Thousands) Total Ads Rate (Percent) Supply/Demand Rate Nov-06 Nov-06 Sep-06 New York, NY San Jose, CA 6.24 Washington, DC 0.59 Los Angeles, CA San Francisco, CA 5.72 Salt Lake City, UT 0.67 Washington, DC Washington, DC 5.38 San Francisco, CA 0.73 Chicago, IL Boston, MA 5.16 San Diego, CA 0.74 Boston, MA San Diego, CA 4.77 San Jose, CA 0.80 San Francisco, CA Austin, TX 4.69 Boston, MA 0.83 Dallas, TX 95.2 Milwaukee, WI 4.67 Seattle-Tacoma, WA 0.86 Miami, FL 91.7 Seattle-Tacoma, WA 4.47 Phoenix, AZ 0.90 Philadelphia, PA 91.7 Portland, OR 4.39 Tampa, FL 0.91 Atlanta, GA 81.6 New Orleans, LA 4.34 Austin, TX 0.93 Source: The Conference Board - All rights reserved. 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 November, with 274,700 and 231,600, 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 (5.72), followed by Washington, DC (5.38), and Boston (5.16). 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 their 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 Dec'06 January 3, 2007 Jun'07 July 2, 2007 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 **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 Nov-05 Oct-06 Nov-06 Nov Nov-05 Oct-06 Nov-06 Nov United States 3, , , % 2, , , % 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 Nov-05 Oct-06 Nov-06 Nov-05 Oct-06 Nov-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 Nov-05 Oct-06 Nov-06 Nov Nov-05 Oct-06 Nov-06 Nov United States 3, , , % 2, , , % 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 Nov-05 Oct-06 Nov-06 Nov Nov-05 Oct-06 Nov-06 Nov 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 Nov-05 Oct-06 Nov-06 Oct-06 Oct-06 Oct-06 Oct-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 Nov-05 Oct-06 Nov-06 Sep-06 Sep-06 Sep-06 Sep-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 Nov-05 Oct-06 Nov-06 Oct-06 Hr. Wage 4 Total 3, , , ,272 $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 66% 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 Nov-06 Hr. Wage 2 Nov-06 Hr. Wage 2 Nov-06 Hr. Wage 2 United States 715,610 $ ,948 $ ,675 $10.65 Alabama 5,686 $ ,486 $ ,069 $8.82 Alaska 1,532 $ ,840 $ $12.98 Arizona 17,251 $ ,345 $ ,181 $10.39 Arkansas 3,116 $ ,622 $ $8.48 California 120,793 $ ,093 $ ,132 $11.92 Colorado 15,234 $ ,263 $ ,898 $11.08 Connecticut 17,227 $ ,265 $ ,046 $12.73 Delaware 2,982 $ ,724 $ $10.92 Florida 40,750 $ ,053 $ ,589 $10.36 Georgia 22,532 $ ,227 $ ,079 $9.66 Hawaii 2,258 $ ,066 $ $11.86 Idaho 2,469 $ ,180 $ ,050 $9.39 Illinois 40,243 $ ,065 $ ,896 $11.34 Indiana 9,376 $ ,458 $ ,721 $9.68 Iowa 6,002 $ ,798 $ ,425 $9.46 Kansas 6,352 $ ,118 $ ,462 $9.45 Kentucky 5,950 $ ,088 $ ,238 $9.28 Louisiana 5,942 $ ,276 $ ,280 $8.70 Maine 2,183 $ ,723 $ ,109 $10.17 Maryland 21,431 $ ,559 $ ,888 $11.19 Massachusetts 33,068 $ ,988 $ ,048 $12.62 Michigan 13,613 $ ,743 $ ,412 $10.84 Minnesota 17,162 $ ,411 $ ,039 $10.86 Mississippi 2,587 $ ,834 $ $8.53 Missouri 10,696 $ ,697 $ ,276 $9.77 Montana 1,449 $ ,387 $ $9.03 Nebraska 5,489 $ ,790 $ $9.51 Nevada 9,419 $ ,369 $ ,936 $10.84 New Hampshire 2,945 $ ,427 $ $10.97 New Jersey 34,360 $ ,735 $ ,137 $12.61 New Mexico 4,053 $ ,482 $ $9.17 New York 64,316 $ ,372 $ ,545 $12.55 North Carolina 15,929 $ ,041 $ ,574 $9.61 North Dakota 1,072 $ ,901 $ $9.17 Ohio 23,722 $ ,867 $ ,319 $10.08 Oklahoma 5,444 $ ,334 $ ,696 $8.89 Oregon 11,865 $ ,143 $ ,600 $11.14 Pennsylvania 42,492 $ ,637 $ ,489 $10.30 Rhode Island 9,938 $ ,838 $ ,102 $11.59 South Carolina 7,611 $ ,711 $ ,233 $9.12 South Dakota 1,988 $ ,994 $ ,711 $8.79 Tennessee 10,743 $ ,130 $ ,965 $9.37 Texas 55,330 $ ,086 $ ,937 $9.40 Utah 8,553 $ ,541 $ ,073 $9.86 Vermont 1,223 $ ,630 $ $10.90 Virginia 33,757 $ ,573 $ ,336 $10.51 Washington 18,649 $ ,129 $ ,392 $12.12 West Virginia 1,550 $ ,113 $ $8.56 Wisconsin 14,607 $ ,991 $ ,090 $10.28 Wyoming 1,241 $ ,962 $ $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 Nov-06 Hr. Wage 1 Nov-06 Hr. Wage 1 Nov-06 Hr. Wage 1 United States 476,875 $ ,409 $ ,082 $14.12 Alabama 4,609 $ ,079 $ ,477 $12.66 Alaska 1,677 $ $ $20.00 Arizona 14,806 $ ,091 $ ,197 $13.72 Arkansas 2,673 $ $ ,255 $12.50 California 94,345 $ ,724 $ ,245 $13.90 Colorado 13,169 $ ,341 $ ,965 $14.87 Connecticut 8,662 $ ,400 $ ,073 $15.54 Delaware 2,241 $ $ $14.12 Florida 38,455 $ ,185 $ ,721 $12.66 Georgia 13,978 $ ,911 $ ,001 $13.51 Hawaii 2,029 $ $ $14.39 Idaho 2,699 $ ,101 $ $12.63 Illinois 22,338 $ ,775 $ ,051 $14.44 Indiana 6,548 $ ,560 $ ,519 $14.64 Iowa 4,078 $ ,135 $ ,972 $13.65 Kansas 4,738 $ ,113 $ ,389 $13.88 Kentucky 4,680 $ ,077 $ ,005 $13.98 Louisiana 5,418 $ ,785 $ ,592 $13.97 Maine 2,396 $ $ $13.62 Maryland 13,208 $ ,666 $ ,608 $14.41 Massachusetts 18,164 $ ,472 $ ,824 $15.54 Michigan 9,014 $ ,644 $ ,598 $16.55 Minnesota 12,521 $ ,975 $ ,631 $15.49 Mississippi 2,244 $ $ ,153 $12.26 Missouri 8,007 $ ,433 $ ,943 $13.79 Montana 1,876 $ $ $13.44 Nebraska 3,265 $ $ $13.96 Nevada 8,430 $ ,778 $ ,675 $13.83 New Hampshire 2,664 $ $ $14.52 New Jersey 20,391 $ ,239 $ ,855 $14.55 New Mexico 2,779 $ $ $13.29 New York 33,290 $ ,179 $ ,699 $15.21 North Carolina 10,306 $ ,474 $ ,721 $13.10 North Dakota 1,429 $ $ $13.64 Ohio 14,287 $ ,320 $ ,649 $14.57 Oklahoma 4,340 $ ,508 $ ,159 $12.99 Oregon 9,327 $ ,490 $ ,293 $14.19 Pennsylvania 19,655 $ ,473 $ ,987 $14.35 Rhode Island 3,015 $ $ $13.82 South Carolina 6,639 $ ,904 $ ,491 $13.22 South Dakota 2,475 $ ,077 $ ,078 $12.05 Tennessee 6,879 $ ,694 $ ,738 $13.46 Texas 38,178 $ ,481 $ ,721 $13.40 Utah 7,049 $ ,369 $ ,770 $13.83 Vermont 1,170 $ $ $13.79 Virginia 17,110 $ ,983 $ ,367 $14.05 Washington 14,977 $ ,659 $ ,115 $16.11 West Virginia 1,789 $ $ $13.11 Wisconsin 12,328 $ ,748 $ ,519 $14.58 Wyoming 956 $ $ $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 Nov-06 Hr. Wage 2 Nov-06 Hr. Wage 2 Nov-06 Hr. Wage 2 United States 715,610 $ ,948 $ ,675 $10.65 Birmingham, AL 2,036 $ ,176 $ $9.50 Phoenix, AZ 13,038 $ ,964 $ ,697 $10.55 Tucson, AZ 2,027 $ ,904 $ $10.02 Los Angeles, CA 44,292 $ ,092 $ ,237 $11.61 Riverside, CA 5,649 $ ,213 $ ,438 $11.36 Sacramento, CA 6,307 $ ,565 $ ,811 $11.73 San Diego, CA 11,185 $ ,014 $ ,425 $11.13 San Francisco, CA 27,655 $ ,286 $ ,936 $13.47 San Jose, CA 13,090 $ ,859 $ ,053 $13.02 Denver, CO 10,471 $ ,024 $ ,518 $11.51 Hartford, CT 5,941 $ ,970 $ $12.47 Washington, DC 39,190 $ ,339 $ ,226 $12.09 Jacksonville, FL 3,823 $ ,310 $ $9.99 Miami, FL 14,724 $ ,173 $ ,406 $10.91 Orlando, FL 5,453 $ ,134 $ ,373 $10.02 Tampa, FL 7,911 $ ,463 $ ,677 $10.27 Atlanta, GA 17,396 $ ,117 $ ,359 $10.29 Honolulu, HI 1,260 $ ,680 $ $11.59 Chicago, IL 30,295 $ ,331 $ ,014 $11.60 Indianapolis, IN 4,096 $ ,967 $ $10.21 Louisville, KY 3,029 $ ,268 $ $9.75 New Orleans, LA 2,570 $ ,077 $ ,341 $8.94 Baltimore, MD 10,027 $ ,321 $ ,033 $11.26 Boston, MA 25,751 $ ,273 $ ,404 $12.84 Detroit, MI 6,534 $ ,887 $ $11.36 Minneapolis-St. Paul, MN 13,978 $ ,054 $ ,793 $11.29 Kansas City, MO 5,592 $ ,314 $ ,010 $10.28 St. Louis, MO 5,811 $ ,390 $ ,238 $10.53 Las Vegas, NV 5,760 $ ,954 $ ,387 $10.99 Buffalo, NY 2,334 $ ,715 $ $10.41 New York, NY 65,767 $ ,931 $ ,608 $13.23 Rochester, NY 1,715 $ ,644 $ $10.89 Charlotte, NC 5,987 $ ,104 $ $10.31 Cincinnati, OH 5,671 $ ,201 $ $10.43 Cleveland, OH 6,435 $ ,948 $ $10.63 Columbus, OH 5,904 $ ,969 $ $10.43 Oklahoma City, OK 2,101 $ ,096 $ $9.21 Portland, OR 6,795 $ ,896 $ ,789 $11.64 Philadelphia, PA 20,357 $ ,316 $ ,037 $11.41 Pittsburgh, PA 6,863 $ ,834 $ ,033 $9.88 Providence, RI 4,382 $ ,221 $ ,170 $11.62 Memphis, TN 2,551 $ ,386 $ $9.92 Nashville, TN 3,324 $ ,964 $ $9.84 Austin, TX 5,691 $ ,123 $ ,809 $9.92 Dallas, TX 19,881 $ ,918 $ ,960 $10.22 Houston, TX 15,890 $ ,439 $ ,490 $9.74 San Antonio, TX 3,381 $ ,579 $ $9.03 Salt Lake City, UT 3,661 $ ,757 $ ,358 $10.40 Richmond, VA 4,621 $ ,089 $ ,067 $10.53 Virginia Beach, VA 5,218 $ ,660 $ $9.79 Seattle-Tacoma, WA 13,699 $ ,215 $ ,351 $12.69 Milwaukee, WI 7,217 $ ,500 $ ,469 $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 Nov-06 Hr. Wage 1 Nov-06 Hr. Wage 1 Nov-06 Hr. Wage 1 United States 476,875 $ ,409 $ ,082 $14.12 Birmingham, AL 2,030 $ $ $13.22 Phoenix, AZ 11,873 $ ,309 $ ,386 $13.98 Tucson, AZ 1,901 $ $ $13.02 Los Angeles, CA 41,115 $ ,391 $ ,212 $13.09 Riverside, CA 5,156 $ ,040 $ ,506 $13.13 Sacramento, CA 7,156 $ ,274 $ ,384 $14.26 San Diego, CA 11,461 $ ,821 $ ,960 $13.47 San Francisco, CA 16,215 $ ,975 $ ,227 $16.96 San Jose, CA 5,350 $ $ $16.48 Denver, CO 8,568 $ ,870 $ ,764 $15.41 Hartford, CT 3,268 $ $ $15.68 Washington, DC 19,059 $ ,865 $ ,875 $15.64 Jacksonville, FL 2,886 $ $ $13.81 Miami, FL 14,512 $ ,484 $ ,343 $13.02 Orlando, FL 5,269 $ ,310 $ ,264 $12.57 Tampa, FL 8,847 $ ,148 $ ,148 $11.99 Atlanta, GA 10,431 $ ,727 $ ,046 $14.70 Honolulu, HI 1,392 $ $ $14.64 Chicago, IL 19,245 $ ,202 $ ,905 $14.66 Indianapolis, IN 3,414 $ $ $14.66 Louisville, KY 2,502 $ $ $14.69 New Orleans, LA 2,698 $ $ $13.65 Baltimore, MD 7,009 $ ,280 $ ,384 $14.67 Boston, MA 14,983 $ ,700 $ ,641 $16.02 Detroit, MI 3,896 $ $ $18.20 Minneapolis-St. Paul, MN 9,801 $ ,290 $ ,075 $16.58 Kansas City, MO 4,400 $ $ $14.44 St. Louis, MO 4,566 $ $ $15.08 Las Vegas, NV 6,299 $ ,256 $ $13.48 Buffalo, NY 2,424 $ $ $14.91 New York, NY 34,189 $ ,610 $ ,924 $15.35 Rochester, NY 1,657 $ $ $13.88 Charlotte, NC 3,879 $ $ $14.36 Cincinnati, OH 3,928 $ $ ,071 $14.81 Cleveland, OH 3,971 $ $ ,049 $15.14 Columbus, OH 3,475 $ $ $14.05 Oklahoma City, OK 2,347 $ $ $13.64 Portland, OR 7,485 $ ,968 $ ,711 $14.89 Philadelphia, PA 12,099 $ ,908 $ ,521 $15.35 Pittsburgh, PA 4,552 $ $ $14.25 Providence, RI 3,052 $ $ $13.75 Memphis, TN 1,811 $ $ $14.11 Nashville, TN 2,578 $ $ $14.15 Austin, TX 5,564 $ ,112 $ ,107 $12.92 Dallas, TX 14,829 $ ,784 $ ,393 $13.85 Houston, TX 9,793 $ ,533 $ ,895 $14.75 San Antonio, TX 3,344 $ $ $11.62 Salt Lake City, UT 5,130 $ ,669 $ ,711 $14.30 Richmond, VA 3,517 $ ,113 $ $13.92 Virginia Beach, VA 2,234 $ $ $13.96 Seattle-Tacoma, WA 11,031 $ ,296 $ ,672 $16.94 Milwaukee, WI 5,381 $ ,129 $ ,928 $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

20 Ad Rates. Ad rates are the number of advertised vacancies as a percent of the BLS civilian labor force data for a geographic area. Ad rates represent the number of ads per 100 participants in the civilian labor force. The HWOL ads rate definition parallels the construction of the widely understood unemployment rate, i.e. unemployed persons divided by the civilian labor force. Supply/Demand Rate. The supply/demand (S/D) rate is the number of unemployed divided by the number of advertised vacancies (i.e. the number of unemployed per advertised vacancy). The S/D rate provided an indication of the tightness of the labor market and whether overall supply and demand is out of balance. Additionally, because of the economic trend relationship between unemployment and vacancies, this rate should also provide a sensitive indicator of trend changes in an area. Regional data. Regions are as defined by the U.S. Census Bureau. Metropolitan area data. The Conference Board uses the 2005 Office of Management and Budget (OMB) county-based MSA definitions for its data whereas the BLS programs in this report use the OMB alternative NECTA (New England Cities and Town Area) MSA definition. Occupational data. Occupational data use the 2000 OMB Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) system. Ads are coded to the 6-digit SOC level; at present, slightly over 60% of the ads were able to be assigned an occupational code. Data in this release have been aggregated to the major occupational group level or higher. Unemployment data. The unemployment and labor force data used in this release come from the BLS Current Population Survey (CPS) and the Local Area Unemployment Statistics (LAUS) program. Taken together, both programs provide a timely and accurate profile of labor force information for the nation and all major levels of geographic detail. Wage data. The average hourly wage data used in this release come from the BLS Occupational Employment Statistics (OES) program. The OES wage data provide an accurate, comprehensive point-in-time snapshot of wage levels across all 800 SOC occupations at the national, State and MSA levels. BLS Job Openings Data. The BLS publishes monthly job openings data from its Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS) This program provides a broad national picture of hiring activity which includes openings, hires and separations. The Conference Board HWOL data series will complement the data found in the JOLTS program and provide detailed regional, State and MSA data on labor demand along with occupational detail for the various geographic breakouts. Methodology Data Collection. Twice each week, Wanted Technologies (WT) collects online ads from approximately 1200 job boards in the United States, covering both online newspaper ads and internet job board ads. Internet job boards that are aggregators (i.e. only scrape ads from other boards and provide no unique ads) are identified and removed from active collection in order to eliminate a major source of duplication in counting online ads. While there is no official comprehensive list of all internet job boards, Wanted Technologies uses, its own independent research on internet job boards, recommendations from its newspaper clients located in MSAs across the U.S., and sources such as Weddle s Directory of Employment-Related Internet Sites to identify new internet job boards not currently covered. This process results in monthly updates to its coverage. Smaller local internet job boards in an area with a limited number of ads may not be targeted for collection. Duplication. Data in the HWOL reflect unduplicated ads. A major issue in producing estimates of the actual level of advertised vacancies for a geographic area is the elimination of duplicate 20