One of the features on CollegeRecruiter.com of which I never tire is the graph on each of our career channel pages that allows you to instantly see the trend in the number of jobs and resumes which are being posted to the 6,800 niche career sites in our network. If you're following the Accounting and Finance sector, then click to our career channel home page, click on the link to Accounting & Finance, and scroll about halfway down the page. You'll see the following graph:

The two graphs use the same data. One is a line graphic and the other is a bar graph. Some people find one easier to interpret than the other, so we display both. The graphic above depicts the change in volume of Accounting & Finance job and resume postings within the last several months. As you can see, the number of jobs being posted is far more variable but overall is trending upwards with a slight recent decline. The number of resumes being posted is less variable but also overall is trending upwards with a slight recent decline.

So how do you turn that data into information? Well, employers may want to use it to determine what types of incentives they need to offer to land new hires. If the number of postings is trending upwards and the number of resumes is trending downwards, then it is reasonable to infer that there is a labor shortage and the incentives will need to be increased. On the other hand, if the number of postings is trending downwards and the number of resumes is trending upwards, the candidates should understand that there likely is a labor glut and they shouldn't expect rich incentives.