West and Mid-Atlantic Regions Lead Gains in New U.S. Job Openings According to Bullhorn Job Opportunity Index

BOSTON, Nov. 1, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Bullhorn today released the first monthly Job Opportunity Index, which benchmarks new job openings by region and sector to identify bright spots in employment. October showed the most month-over-month growth in the West and Mid-Atlantic, which gained 10 percent and four percent in new job openings respectively. By sector, wholesale trade gained the most new job openings with a 28 percent increase in October and a 91 percent increase year-over-year.  

"The Bullhorn Job Opportunity Index is a predictive indicator about where opportunity exists according to new job openings. This give us insight into the upcoming ADP and BLS numbers this week, which we expect to show gains of roughly 100,000 jobs filled in October. This is anemic and doesn't keep pace with population growth," said Art Papas, CEO of Bullhorn. "However, year-over-year data shows a bit of a different story with gains in every sector except for five. Time alone will ultimately show if initiatives such as the Obama Jobs plan will give the U.S. economy the requisite jump-start to show a meaningful jump in job creation."

Regional Data

Month-over-month, the West shows the most opportunity with a 10 percent gain in new job openings, while the Midwest showed the least promise with an 11 percent loss of job openings. However, year-over-year data shows a better outlook with gains in four out of six regions, with the Mid-Atlantic at the top, gaining 16 percent in new job openings.

Sector Data

The wholesale trade sector showed the greatest opportunity with a 28 percent month-over-month gain in new job openings. Real estate and rental leasing & accommodation and food services showed the greatest losses, each with a five percent contraction in new job openings. Similar to the regional data, a year-over-year view shows a more promising picture with gains in every sector except five. Wholesale trade also lead the year-over-year growth coming in at 91 percent, while agriculture, forestry, fishing & hunting came in last with a loss of 30 percent.

The Bullhorn Job Opportunity Index is calculated based on new job openings across more than 50,000 recruiters and hiring managers spanning 5,000 companies and five years of historical data, which includes 13 million analyzed records. Unlike the ADP National Employment Report® and the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics nonfarm payroll statistics, which measure collected payrolls (or jobs filled), Bullhorn's Index measures new job openings for the same period to provide a view into near-term opportunity.

Go to http://www.bullhorn.com/news-event/job-opportunity-index for charts and graphs of the October 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 50,000 recruiters and hiring managers across 5,000 companies in 35 countries. Privately owned, Bullhorn is principally backed by Highland Capital Partners and General Catalyst Partners.

SOURCE Bullhorn