March 2012: Hiring Continues to Improve

March 2012: Hiring Continues to Improve

Author
CareerCast.com/JobSerf Employment Index

Employment Activity Jumps Almost 10-points

     As the nation welcomes spring and warmer weather, job seekers are welcoming the uptick in hiring numbers in March. According to the CareerCast.com/JobSerf, the U.S. hiring activity jumped 9.9 points during March to a total score of 116.9 and its highest peak since the Index launched in 2008. This is the second month of a hiring surge and encouraging news for the long-term recovery in the job market.

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 116.9 for March 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 is higher at 116.9 than it was March of 2007.

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

                                  

Index Month Index Score Monthly Change
March 2012 116.9 +19.9
February 2012 107.0 +12.0
January 2012 95.0 -0.1
December 2011 95.1 -8.4
November 2011 103.5 -0.9
October 2011 104.4 +1.9
September 2011 102.6 -5.0
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

 

Employment activity since the beginning of the year has surged almost 22-points, a positive sign for the economy. Hiring levels are also 7.4 points above March 2011 levels, 26.5 points above 2010 and 72.8 points above 2009 levels.

 

Continue to the March 2012 Regional Hiring Report

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