Healthcare Online Job Ads Rise in April

Online job ads for healthcare practitioners and technicians grew by 3,300 listing in April for a total of 630,000 listings, a level of demand not seen since the recession began two years ago, the Conference Board reports.

Overall, online job ads in most employment sectors across the economy—in most parts of the nation—surged by 222,700 listings in April, continuing a prolonged upswing that has seen 870,000 new listings in the past six months, with a total of 4.1 million job listings in April, according to The Conference Board Help Wanted OnLine report. 

"In a welcome sign for the job market, employers began the spring hiring season with a large 223,000 increase in demand for workers," said June Shelp, vice president at The Conference Board. "Providing evidence of the strengthening economy, labor demand in April rose in practically every state and a wide variety of occupations from management positions to office workers and sales help. Improved job prospects also contributed to the April rise in The Conference Board Consumer Confidence Index to its highest level since September 2008. The gap is beginning to narrow, but the number of unemployed continues to outnumber advertised vacancies by 3.82 to 1."

The report, which tracks more than 1,000 online job boards across the United States, also notes that the demand for healthcare support occupations has remained relatively strong throughout the recession and grew by 2,400 listings in April, to 128,700 listings, the highest monthly level since the HWOL series began in May 2005. Increases in this field reflect the continued strong demand for workers in occupations like occupational and physical therapists and nursing aids, the report said.

Demand in the healthcare labor market varies substantially from the higher-paying practitioner and technical jobs to the lower-paying support occupations. In April, advertised vacancies for healthcare practitioners or technical occupations outnumbered the unemployed looking for work in this field by 4 to 1, and the average wage in these occupations is $32.64/hour, the report said. The average wage for healthcare support occupations is $12.66/hour and there were more than two unemployed people looking for work in the field for every advertised vacancy, the report said.