Although not all employers post vacant positions online, but the number of jobs seen on popular career search websites is a good way to monitor the job market. This being said, the number of available jobs in Washington, DC declined in May, according to the Monster.com Employment Index.

The nation’s capital, however, was not alone in this. The report found that online recruitment activity dropped in 27 of the 28 U.S. metro areas that the Index monitors. Pittsburgh was the only large market that was not found to have a decreased number of local employers posting jobs online.

The Index monitoring the number of Washington DC jobs posted online dropped from 105 points in April to 96 points in May. Only two of the industries monitored, management and healthcare practitioners and technical support, showed an increase in the number of Washington DC jobs they provide. Management saw an increase of 10 points, whereas healthcare employment saw only an increase of one point, but was down by 21 points from May of the previous year.

The significant decline in number of Washington DC jobs posted online made the area one of the two markets that experienced the steepest declines in May, meaning that the economy in the area may be beginning to suffer. Philadelphia was the only other metro area to experience a decrease of this size. Both cities saw a decrease in positions posted in jobs in the sciences, engineering and education.

The category that continued to provide the largest number of Washington DC jobs, according to Monster’s Index, was military specific. The report found that in May this group of jobs was at 204 points, down five points from the previous month. Despite the month-to-month decrease in the number of Washington DC jobs provided by this sector, it was up nine points from May of the previous year.

Monster begin releasing reports on online recruitment in various metros and industries in April of 2004, using data the company had been collecting since 2003. According to a Monster Worldwide, Inc press release, the results have been validated by independent, third party Research America, Inc for accuracy. According to Research America, the Monster Employment Index has a +/-1.05 percent margin of error.

Labels: DC Jobs, Washington