Online job advertisements declined by over 500,000 in June compared with the same period a year earlier, but a national report shows only a modest decrease from May, a private research group says.

The Conference Board released its monthly Help-Wanted Online Data Series report this week.

Online advertised vacancies were about 3.29 million in June, a 66,700 decline from May and a 505,800 drop from June 2008. Since record monthly declines of 507,000 and 506,000 in December and January, online ad vacancies have dropped a modest 71,000, the group said.

Gad Levanon, senior economist for the New York-based research group, said Tuesday that ad vacancies have held steady in the past three months and that's a good sign.

"The large decline in online job ads is over and in the last several months we've seen a moderation," Levanon said. "So some industries and companies are increasing their hiring, which is a good sign."

Levanon said while some large states like Florida and Georgia are showing modest gains in job ads, others like California and Pennsylvania have yet to show real improvement.

Twenty-four states posted online job ad vacancy gains in June when compared with May, which saw job ads rise by 250,000, the largest monthly increase since October 2006.

The Help-Wanted Online Data Series measures the number of new online jobs and openings reposted from the previous month on more than 1,200 major Internet job boards and smaller Web sites that serve niche markets.

Michigan had nearly 10 unemployed people for every advertised vacancy, followed by Indiana and Kentucky with over seven unemployed people for every advertised vacancy and Ohio, North Carolina and Mississippi with over six.

Levanon said Michigan's supply-and-demand rate is "very high. It is probably the highest ratio we've ever had for any state."

Michigan's unemployment rate jumped to 14.1 percent in May, its highest mark in nearly 26 years.

Among the larger states in the South, Florida saw the greatest gain in job postings with 9,200, followed by Georgia with 2,900. Texas saw a decline of 5,100 postings. Among the smaller states, West Virginia had an increase of 4,100, followed by Kentucky with 3,700.

In the Northeast, all four of the largest states posted declines in June. New York had the largest decrease with 5,300 fewer postings, followed by Pennsylvania with a drop of 2,700.

Wisconsin had a 4,300 decline in postings, the largest drop in the Midwest, followed by Minnesota with a decrease of 2,300. Illinois saw the largest increase with 1,900 new postings.

In the West, California was down 15,900 postings in June. Arizona and Colorado increased 4,600 and 3,400 but both states were still 40 percent below their levels in June 2008.

Job postings declined in computer and mathematical science and sales and related occupations with both areas posting over 30 percent fewer jobs from a year ago.

Other groups with ad vacancy declines were health practitioners and technical occupations and architecture and engineering.

WESTBROOK - Last week was supposed to be the first meeting of the Ad Hoc Committee on Development of a Finance Director Job Description–but instead it became both the committee’s first and last meeting.

In just 25 minutes–and before Selectman Marie Farrell’s scheduled 8 p.m. arrival at the meeting–the group had already reviewed a sample job description from the Town of Durham and voted to adopt it with minor amendments as the Westbrook job description; it further voted to set the salary of the post in a range from $60,000 to $75,000 and to recommend to the town boards of Selectmen and Finance that the opening be immediately posted for three weeks with the Government Finance Office Association.

Voting in favor of the motion, according to meeting minutes written by First Selectman Noel Bishop, were Bishop, Board of Finance member Gary Gavigan, and–by speakerphone–Jane Butterworth, also on the Board of Finance.

The minutes do not record Treasurer Darlene Jones’s vote or that committee member Farrell was absent during deliberations and during the vote.

Jones said she questioned the speed with which the committee reviewed the job description and voted to send it on to the Board of Selectmen and Board of Finance for approval. Jones was particularly concerned that Durham’s finance director job description might not be applicable to Westbrook since Durham has a town charter and Westbrook does not.

When told of the Ad Hoc Committee’s proposed recommendation, Selectman Jim Crawford said, “I would suggest that the motion be tabled because we don’t know enough. We don’t know whether Durham’s particulars are applicable to Westbrook. Second, we’re in the process of creating a new position and we haven’t discussed who this person reports to, who this person would supervise, and what specific experience the position would require.”

Crawford suggested that it may be necessary for the town to hire a consultant to help the town walk through the process to have a good shot at success in addressing the problems identified by town auditors and consultant Linda Savitsky.

Savitsky herself, an experienced municipal finance consultant, recently informed the town leaders that she declined to provide the town with additional consulting services.

San Francisco, CA, July 02, 2009 --(PR.com)-- GigFish is an online job site specializing in the high-tech sector, which includes the fields of engineering, research & development, web development & design, information technology (IT), technical sales & marketing, product management, science, biotech, and various other technical fields.

According to GigFish Founder, Robert Adams, "One of the strongest job sectors continues to be high tech; however, employers are more cautious than ever when it comes to their recruiting budgets. This is where GigFish comes in - a single job posting costs only $49, which includes unlimited access to the resume database at no additional charge. GigFish is also designed to attract the most difficult to find technical talent, which makes the service a strong value proposition."

"Employers are able to create a free company profile, which may include a company summary, corporate logo, website address, and various other organizational information. Other employer focused features include an easy, one-page job posting form, multiple ways of managing job applicants, job posting statistics, billing management, resume searching, and job post editing and management."

"Job seekers should find GigFish to be simple and straightforward, yet packed with the most relevant features, including advanced job searching based on distance/location, keywords, job categories, salary range, company type, and more. Other features include the ability to save searches, jobs, and create job search agents with email alerts."

"Additionally, it is recommended that job seekers post their resume. Since GigFish does not charge employers a premium to search the resume database, a job seeker's chances of being found increase significantly when they choose to post their resume."

For additional information on the news that is the subject of this release (or for a sample, copy or demo), contact Robert Adams or visit www.gigfish.com.

About GigFish.com:
GigFish is an online job site specializing in the high-tech sector, which includes the fields of engineering, research & development, web development & design, information technology (IT), technical sales & marketing, product management, science, biotech, and various other technical fields.

It is the end of the exam season in British universities and schools, and students are emerging, blinking, into the sunshine. But the joy of finishing the last gruelling paper is turning to despair as they survey the job market. The prospects for our young people are bleak.

A report from the OECD has found an alarming surge in youth unemployment in the UK, which began even before the current downturn. In the mid-1990s, prospects were good for young jobseekers, but by 2007, the unemployment rate for 16 to 24-year-olds had soared to 14.4 per cent. The rise was fuelled by joblessness among the unskilled, named the Neets in Westminster — not in education, employment or training.

Skilled youngsters bucked the trend until the downturn began to bite. Figures released yesterday by the Higher Education Statistics Agency show that 16,835 graduates did not find a job last summer, up 6 per cent on the previous year. That figure is expected to soar this summer as employers scale back their recruitment.

This was a recession created in the City, which is having a disproportionate effect on the young: whether they are educated and mired in student debt, or low-skilled and burdened by low expectations and the acceptance of a benefits culture.
Within the statistics lie thousands of personal tragedies. Unemployment is dispiriting and depressing. It creates a vicious cycle of joblessness that is hard to break. The gaps on the CV, and the toll on ambition and confidence, can too easily turn a jobless few months into an unemployed year, and then into a wasted life.

But each of these personal tragedies add up to a much wider problem for society. When the long-awaited upturn comes, and the recruitment begins anew, employers will look to a new, fresher generation of graduates, bypassing their older brethren. A mini-generation of graduates will see their potential untapped and ambitions unfulfilled. The wasting of this talent will not aid any economic recovery, but slow its progression.

At the other end of the scale are the unskilled workers. Unemployment is particularly rife among young men. We face the prospect of a new wave of the unemployed, bored and disenfranchised dominating Britain’s deprived corners.

The Government’s response to this growing social issue, is the guarantee to find a job, education or training place for anyone under 25 who has been unemployed for one year. Ministers have appealed to businesses, social entrepreneurs and councils to create jobs, paid for by the Government from a £1 billion fund.

This idea could be a dismal flop. It could be a £1 billion fund to sponsor a tide of non-jobs, viewed with contempt by employers and coerced employees alike. If youngsters turn down one of these jobs they lose benefits. If the jobs were really needed, the market would have created them.

But if business engages with the government plans, the job guarantee could work well, by keeping youngsters in touch with the world of work and breaking the cycle of unemployment. It is in employers’ interests to sponsor a generation of skilled, motivated young workers. It is in their interest to think creatively about jobs and work experience, paid for by the Government, to motivate a generation that is in danger of being swallowed whole by the credit crunch.

In such hard times when jobs are scarce and you need a paycheck, should you settle for a position, even if it means earning less than you need or deserve? Many businesses, facing their own economic constraints, are giving new hires less money than they made in their last job.

"As the downturn deepens, an increasing number of job seekers will find themselves getting lower-paying offers," Mark Royal, a senior consultant at Hay Group, told the Wall Street Journal. "We are on the cusp of a trend."

Experts suggest eagerness to work for lower pay can send the wrong signal that you are desperate. But rather than immediately reject or accept a low ball deal, employment experts suggest carefully negotiating to try to win a compromise, such as a faster pay review.

Jim Camp, president of Camp Group, a negotiaiton consulting firm, said you must grasp a potential employer's problems so you can promote yourself as a problem solver worth more than the proposed low pay. "To negotiate in tough times, you have to be able to create a vision," he said.

Of course, there are time when you must just say no. That could be when you just can't live on the salary, your negotiations fall flat, or other and better opportunities might be awaiting.