As a job seeker, you already know this, I’m sure. Not all jobs get posted on-line. In fact, the good ones are filled through referrals and never make the job boards. So why are they being used to measure the health of the job market by The Conference Board, Inc?
(FYI, The help-wanted on-line data series measures the number of first-time on-line job ads and unduplicated on-line ads in nine census regions and 52 metropolitan Internet job boards and job boards serving smaller geographic areas)
Hot off the press of RBJ which reported Conference Board findings for the month:
- “Rochester-area businesses posted fewer total ads than each of the largest MSAs surveyed nationally”.
This is an interested finding and I am don’t know how to explain the root cause of this lag. (We entered into the recession later than some regions, not all of them.)
- June 2008 4.63 million jobs posted nationally
- June 2009 3.29 million jobs posted nationally
Net change 1.34 million fewer jobs posted nationally. Where did they all go?
I don’t think you can blame all of this on the economy. There may be fewer companies hiring because they are watching expenses after their decline in profits. It could also be that with so many people out and looking, employers don’t want to be overwhelmed by resumes and applicants. They may, in fact, be hiring. Perhaps they are using methods the Conference Board hasn’t found a way to track yet- referrals and social network platforms.
Dan Schawbel’s been conducting his own research and predicts the end is near for job boards. Read his full post! He has only 220 respondents so far and will continue the study longer, however, initial findings are:
There are some key points here:
- We are living in rapidly changing times
- The way we used to do things is changing
- Network now and always to manage your career!

Hannah Morgan speaks and writes about job search and career strategies. She founded CareerSherpa.net to educate professionals on how to maneuver through today’s job search process. Hannah was nominated as a LinkedIn Top Voice in Job Search and Careers and is a regular contributor to US News & World Report. She has been quoted by media outlets, including Forbes, USA Today, Money Magazine, Huffington Post, as well as many other publications. She is also author of The Infographic Resume and co-author of Social Networking for Business Success.