Today, SimplyHired.com released its May employment trends outlook highlighting national and local market forecasts, and industry and employer trends.
Nationwide job openings declined slightly this month, dropping -2.6% month-over-month from April. Despite the decrease, job openings were still up 26.1% from 2010. The national job competition ratio improved this month, dropping from 6:1 to 5:1. Though job growth slowed, many states reported lower unemployment rates, which could account for the improved ratio.
Hiring appeared to slow across nearly all areas in May. The majority of metros, 32 of 50, had a decline in job openings, and another nine metros had growths of less than 1.0%. The most significant growths for the month were in smaller metros: Austin (6.6%), West Palm Beach (6.3%) and Albuquerque & Santa Fe (4.1%).
Although May proved to be a slow hiring month for nearly all industries and occupations, the two strongest sectors continued to grow. Job openings for retail salespersons increased 64.1% month-over-month and openings for financial specialists and accountants increased 34.8%.
For more information on May employment trends view the full report below.
