eMarketer looks at the growth in internet job postings, top occupations advertised, and the household incomes of those who visit these sites.
The Conference Board Help Wanted Online Data Series counts the full universe of new online advertised job vacancies posted directly on job search sites or through newspaper online ads. Ads posted on employers' own websites are excluded from coverage. However, The Conference Board notes that since a number of job boards pull ads from these sites, these ads may also be counted. In October 2006 The Conference Board counted 2.53 million online help wanted ads, up 28 percent from a year earlier.
The Conference Board's top 10 list of occupations advertised online from January to September 2006 contains mostly white-collar jobs. Management vacancies (408,000) have a large lead over all other occupations for which ads were placed over this nine-month tracking period. The last three listed occupations -- production; transportation and material moving; and installation, maintenance and repair -- appear to be blue-collar occupations. Their average hourly wage rates are among the lowest of the top 10 positions advertised online.
It is no wonder that the preponderance of internet job ads are for white-collar positions. According to comScore, one in four (24 percent) visitors to career websites (including job hunting sites) have annual household incomes over $100,000 and over half (55 percent) have household incomes of at least $60,000.
Jeffrey Grau is a senior analyst at eMarketer. This article was drawn from his report, Career Planning and Job Hunting Online. Contact eMarketer directly.