Online labor demand wavers in Providence metro

NEW YORK – Online advertised vacancies in the Providence metropolitan area fell 16,000 to 23,700 month over month from September to October, according to The Conference Board Help Wanted OnLine (HWOL) data series, released Wednesday.
Year over year, compared to October 2011, online advertised vacancies in the metro area increased by 600 jobs from 23,100.
In the Providence metro area in October, there were 2,100 fewer new ads than the 17,800 posted during September. Year over year, the number also declined from 16,700 in October 2011 to 15,800 in October 2012.
Over the month in October, online labor demand declined in 39 of the 50 States in the U.S. Year over year, all states except Vermont, which declined, and Rhode Island, which saw no change, were above the demand reported in October 2011.
Across the county, online advertised vacancies fell 77,800 in October to 4.7 million, in line with the data in May 2012, according to the HWOL data series.
“The average labor demand for the last five months (since May 2012) is neither up nor down but basically flat,” June Shelp, vice president at The Conference Board, said in prepared remarks. “Nationally the gains and losses over the last five months netted out to a very weak average of about 4,000/month.”
Shelp added that there have been some bright spots in national gains in the last five months, specifically with construction occupations, which increased 16 percent since May.