May 2011: U.S. Job Growth Declines
May 2011: U.S. Job Growth Declines
Hiring Activity Drops by 10% in May
- CareerCast.com/JobSerf Employment Index May 2011
- May Hiring Overall
- May Hiring by Job Title
- May Hiring by City
- May Hiring by Region
For the first time this year, most cities across the nation saw a decline in hiring activity. Riverside, Calif., Houston and Nashville were the only cities in the CareerCast.com/JobSerf Employment Index that experienced an increase in job growth in May. Overall the employment index lost 10.1 points, falling to 100.5 points, the largest decrease in the past 20 months.
How do we determine these numbers?
The CareerCast.com/JobSerf Employment Index calculates the number of available managerial job openings each month by surveying a 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 100.5 for May 2011 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. Over the past 41 months, the CareerCast.com/JobSerf Index is higher at 100.5 than in May of 2007.7
- USA Hiring Index Table, Jan 2008 - May 2011:
| Index Month | Index Score | Monthly Change |
|---|---|---|
| May 2011 | 100.5 | -10.1 |
| April 2011 | 110.6 | +1.1 |
| March 2011 | 109.5 | +5.2 |
| February 2011 | 104.3 | +0.6 |
| January 2011 | 103.7 | +3.8 |
| December 2010 | 99.9 | -6.0 |
| November 2010 | 105.9 | +6.4 |
| October 2010 | 99.5 | -0.1 |
| September 2010 | 99.6 | -2.7 |
| August 2010 | 102.3 | -4.6 |
| July 2010 | 106.9 | +14.3 |
| June 2010 | 92.6 | +3.6 |
| May 2010 | 89.0 | -3.3 |
| April 2010 | 92.3 | +1.9 |
| March 2010 | 90.4 | +7.1 |
| February 2010 | 83.3 | +12.5 |
| January 2010 | 70.8 | -3.1 |
| December 2009 | 73.9 | +0.2 |
| November 2009 | 73.7 | +5.9 |
| October 2009 | 67.8 | -0.6 |
| September 2009 | 68.4 | -11.4 |
| August 2009 | 79.8 | +1.6 |
| July 2009 | 78.2 | +17.8 |
| June 2009 | 60.4 | +3.8 |
| May 2009 | 56.6 | +15.2 |
| April 2009 | 41.4 | -2.7 |
| March 2009 | 44.1 | -5.4 |
| February 2009 | 49.5 | -12.2 |
| January 2009 | 61.7 | -4.5 |
| December 2008 | 66.2 | -10.9 |
| November 2008 | 77.1 | +3.7 |
| October 2008 | 73.4 | -14.3 |
| September 2008 | 87.7 | -18.0 |
| August 2008 | 105.7 | +5.4 |
| July 2008 | 100.3 | -2.3 |
| June 2008 | 102.6 | +6.8 |
| May 2008 | 95.8 | +1.6 |
| April 2008 | 94.2 | -15.1 |
| March 2008 | 109.3 | +0.3 |
| February 2008 | 109.0 | +8.7 |
| January 2008 | 100.3 | +/-0 |
Despite the first decline in employment activity in all regions in 2011, job prospects remain significantly higher than in previous years. The average USA Hiring Index for May is 100.5, up 11.5 points from May 2010.
Continue to the May 2011 Regional Hiring Report
May 2011: Employment Activity by U.S. Region
May 2011: Employment Activity by U.S. Region CareerCast.com Tue, 05/24/2011 - 16:11May 2011: Employment Activity by Job Title
May 2011: Employment Activity by Job Title CareerCast.com Tue, 05/24/2011 - 16:32May 2011: The 10 Best (and Worst) Cities for Finding a Job
May 2011: The 10 Best (and Worst) Cities for Finding a Job
April showers did not bring May flowers for many cities this month in terms of job growth, as 90% of the cities on our list either saw a decline in job activity or had no change in per capita hiring. On the upside, Riverside, Calif., saw the biggest employment gain (+9%), being the worst city to find a job on our list. Nashville and Houston also saw an uptick in hiring in May.
To determine the cities with the 10 best and worst job markets each month, the CareerCast.com/JobSerf Index surveys 30 different major metro areas across the U.S. for per capita job availability. Rather than simply reporting the cities with the most and least jobs, the Index measures the number of job openings relative to population. This gives a more complete picture of how easy (or difficult) it is to get a new job in each metro area.
Want to know where the jobs are? If you're planning on a move soon, your best bet would be to check out the top 10 best cities for finding a job today: