Conference Board News Release (06/04/14)

Online advertised vacancies declined 18,900 to 4.9 million in May, according to the Conference Board Help Wanted OnLine Data Series. The April supply and demand rate stands at 1.98 unemployed for each vacancy with a total of 4.8 million more unemployed workers than the number of advertised vacancies. The number of unemployed was 9.8 million in April.

“Last month’s supply [and] demand rate fell below two for the first time in just over six years,” says June Shelp, vice president at the Conference Board. “That is good news for many workers since the April supply [and] demand rate is a broad indication of current employer demand for labor. Unfortunately, it’s not all good news since overall employer demand has been flat for over a year and we’re seeing a drop in demand for high-paying jobs like computer workers and medical professionals.” At the same time, in service and manufacturing occupations like production, building and grounds, food service, and construction, there were close to four or even more unemployed workers for every opening.