Online advertised vacancies dropped by 715,100 from April 2007 to April 2008, according to The Conference Board Help-Wanted OnLine Data Series™ (HWOL). In fact, April 2008 saw 3,649,900 online advertised job vacancies, a 16.4% decline from the April 2007 level. This is the second consecutive month of over-the-year declines for the nation as whole. While job demand is below year ago levels in 44 of 50 States, of the six states that posted gains, the pace of growth has also slowed. In April, there were 2.4 advertised vacancies posted online for every 100 persons in the labor force, down from a high of 2.9 in April 2007. "The weakness in online advertised vacancies evident over the last few months deepened in April and hiring is likely to continue to be lackluster into summer," says Gad Levanon, economist at The Conference Board. "April is a month when we normally see employers increasing their recruitment, but this year it actually declined. The lack of new job opportunities is contributing to consumers' feelings of uncertainty and is affecting their buying intentions." Levanon adds that, "With increasing job worries and rising fuel prices, the percentage of respondents intending to take a vacation over the next six months fell to a 30-year low in the April Conference Board Consumer Confidence Survey." HWOL also mentions the fact that not only did Alaska post the highest ads rate in the country for the eighth month in a row but that Delaware leads the nation with the lowest supply/demand rate.

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