No question the economy is slowing down so this article from Forbes.com is not surprising:
The Conference Board found there was a total of 3,733,200 online-advertised job vacancies, a 0.6% decline from March 2007 and the first year-on-year fall in total numbers since the index began in 2005. The Board said the decline reflects a slowing in annual growth in 42 states, with 14 states showing negative growth.
Yes, I know, the index is only a few years old, but there is enough data to show the present-day trend. Here is some anecdotal information from the survey:
The online-ad volume in California dropped 118,000, or 19%, below its March 2007 level. The volume of online-advertised vacancies in Florida (217,100) was 15% lower than the March 2007 level, while the volume in Texas (336,900) was up 8% and ads in New York (275,800) were up slightly (1.4%).
I would still caution against buying into the media hype about the “plummeting economy.” The economy is dynamic so there are always going to be down cycles like the one we are in now. However, some of the discussions are borderline ridiculous. I read part of an article the other day stating that we are heading into another 1930’s era depression. The hyperbole that surrounds economic reporting stills astounds me.