Employment Activity Surges in August
CareerCast.com/JobSerf Employment Index
August 2011
As summer ends and kids head back to school, more Americans are also heading into new jobs, according to the CareerCast.com/JobSerf Employment index. Employment activity ended at 107.6, a jump of 9.4 points from July and the highest level since April 2011. Although this jump in hiring activity is a positive step, analysts are cautionary. “The effects of the current economic uncertainty may not be fully understood until later in the year,” says JobSerf COO, Jay Martin.
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 107.6 for August 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 44 months, the CareerCast.com/JobSerf Index is higher at 107.6 than in August of 2007.
- USA Hiring Index Table, Jan 2008 - August 2011:
| Index Month | Index Score | Monthly Change |
|---|---|---|
| August 2011 | 107.6 | +9.4 |
| July 2011 | 98.2 | -2.1 |
| June 2011 | 100.3 | -0.2 |
| 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 |
In a traditionally slow hiring month, August saw a nice jump of 9.4 points in hiring activity. This is the biggest monthly increase in 13 months. This month’s increase is 5.3 points more than last August and a whopping 29.4 increase since August 2009.
Continue to the August 2011 Regional Hiring Report