Bullhorn Job Opportunity Report Shows Manufacturing, Educational Services and Health Care Sectors All Experienced Double Digit Growth in Job Openings

Report predicts U.S. economy will add 170,000 jobs in January 2012

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Jan 06, 2012, 04:43 ET

BOSTON, Jan. 6, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Bullhorn today released its December Job Opportunity Report, benchmarking new job openings by sector and region to identify bright spots in employment. According to Bullhorn's sector data, adjusted for seasonality, the manufacturing, educational services and health care sectors all experienced month-over-month double-digit growth in job openings. The manufacturing industry led the pack, with a 43 percent increase.

Looking across its job openings data, Bullhorn can also project the upcoming data from the BLS Employment Opportunity Index that will be released on February 3, 2012. Bullhorn predicts that the U.S. economy will add 170,000 jobs in January 2012, continuing the positive trend.

"We are seeing a steady increase in job opportunity across regions and sectors, which is very welcome news," said Art Papas, CEO of Bullhorn. "We are predicting that, in general, 2012 will be a better year for job seekers."

Sector Data

The manufacturing sector showed the greatest opportunity with a 43 percent month-over-month gain in new job openings. The utilities industry showed the greatest losses, with a 30 percent contraction in new job openings. Similar to the regional data, a year-over-year view shows a more promising picture with gains in almost every sector. The arts, entertainment and recreation sector led the year-over-year growth coming in at 203 percent, while public administration came in last with a loss of -64 percent.

Month-over-month by sector		Year-over-year by sector
Accommodation & Food Services	-12%	Accommodation & Food Services	128%
Arts, Entertainment, and Recreation	-12%	Arts, Entertainment, and Recreation	203%
Construction	7%	Construction	20%
Educational Services	26%	Educational Services	82%
Finance and Insurance	-6%	Finance and Insurance	49%
Health Care and Social Assistance	26%	Health Care and Social Assistance	67%
Information	-19%	Information	87%
Manufacturing	43%	Manufacturing	42%
Professional, Scientific and Technical Services	8%	Professional, Scientific and Technical Services	28%
Public Administration	-28%	Public Administration	-64%
Retail Trade	-13%	Retail Trade	9%
Transportation and Warehousing	4%	Transportation and Warehousing	51%
Utilities	-30%	Utilities	91%

Regional Data

Month-over-month, the Southwest experienced the smallest drop with a -15 percent decrease in new job openings, while the Mid-Atlantic added the fewest new jobs (-23 percent). Year-over-year data shows a better outlook with gains in all six regions, with the Midwest at the top, gaining 53 percent in new job openings. This data is not seasonally adjusted, which is the primary reason for the month-over-month drop.

Month-over-month by region		Year-over-year by region
Mid-Atlantic	-23%	Mid-Atlantic	42%
Midwest	-19%	Midwest	53%
Northeast	-16%	Northeast	20%
Southeast	-17%	Southeast	23%
Southwest	-15%	Southwest	50%
West	-21%	West	35%

The Bullhorn Job Opportunity Report is calculated based on new job openings across more than 50,000 recruiters and five years of historical data, which includes 13 million analyzed records.

Go to http://www.bullhorn.com/news-event/job-opportunity-index-dec for charts and graphs of the Bullhorn Job Opportunity Index.

About Bullhorn

Bullhorn® creates software and services that improve the way employees and employers come together. For over ten years our innovations have powered the recruiting and staffing operations of fast-growing start-ups up through the world's largest employment brands. Headquartered in Boston, with offices in London and Sydney, Bullhorn's recruiting CRM and social recruiting products serve over 5,000 clients and 50,000 users across 35 countries. Privately owned, Bullhorn is principally backed by Highland Capital Partners and General Catalyst Partners.