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January 2012: Hiring Levels Remain Flat

By CareerCast.com/JobSerf Employment Index

Employment Activity Drops Less Than a Point

 As a new year kicks into high gear, hiring across the U.S. remained flat, according to the CareerCast.com/JobSerf Employment activity ended at 95.0 in January, a -0.1 drop from December. Although January’s hiring numbers are down -8.7 points from January 2011, employment activity has grown by double-digits from 2009 and 2010.

“There has not been a significant improvement in hiring yet in 2012,” says Jay Martin, COO, JobSerf. “And managerial recruitment activity remained close to 2007 levels for much of last year.”

How do we determine these numbers?

The CareerCast.com/JobSerf Employment Index calculates the number of available managerial job openings each month by surveying wide range of local and national job boards across the U.S, with all results hand-counted and checked for duplication by a team of researchers. What does an overall Index score of 95.0 for January 2012 mean? The Index measures employment activity against a base score of 100, which represents the volume of job openings during the same period in 2007. A score higher than 100 means that there are more available jobs than in 2007, while one below 100 means that job seekers now have fewer opportunities available. The CareerCast.com / JobSerf Index remains lower at 95.0 than it was in January of 2007.

• USA Hiring Index Table, Jan 2008 - Jan 2012:

Though the employment activity remained steady this past month, January’s hiring numbers are down -8.7 points from January 2011. Overall though, the hiring activity has grown by 24.2 points ahead of January 2010 and 33.3 points ahead of January 2009.

Continue to the January 2012 Job Title Hiring Report