Nationwide job openings remained steady and mostly unchanged in February with only a 0.2 percent increase month-over-month and a 5.5 percent increase year-over-year, according to the March 2012 Employment Outlook by SimplyHired.com, a job search engine.
The survey also finds that nationwide job competition was the same at a ratio of three unemployed people for each job opening.
"As we've noted before, the job market is becoming truly stable for the first time since the recession began in December 2007," says Gautam Godhwani, CEO of SimplyHired.com. "It's encouraging to see employment numbers hold steady. We expect real growth to occur in the coming months."
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In the top 50 metro areas, 30 cities experienced a rise in job openings while decreasing in the other 20, the survey reveals. Among the cities with the largest job growth include Miami and Fort Lauderdale, Fla., at 10.2 percent; Austin, Texas, at 7.7 percent; Orlando, Fla., at 6.5 percent; and Detroit at 5.4 percent. The cities with the largest declines are Pittsburgh at 10.9 percent; Greensboro, N.C, and Winston-Salem, N.C., at 7.2 percent; and Grand Rapids, Mich., at 7.1 percent.
According to the survey, two occupation categories grew by more than half in February: farming, fishing and forestry workers at 67.7 percent and sales representatives at 53 percent. Other occupation categories that saw notable job growth are personal care and services at 19.4 percent and financial specialists and accountants at 16.2 percent. Among the occupation categories that experienced large decreases in job openings are social workers, counselors and religious workers at 56.8 percent; scientists and lab technicians at 47.9 percent; and health care workers at 10.9 percent. While legal jobs also fell 51.8 percent, this decline comes after several months of significant job growth.
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