Fewer online job postings in January

02.04.09
By Nicholas Storie

The employment situation in the U.S. is currently front and center in many Americans' minds.

As workers worry about the security of their job, many people are cutting down on spending, trying to build up their savings coffers and paying off credit card debt.

A new report from the Conference Board suggests that for those who are not currently employed, the rigors of finding a job may be growing more challenging.

Advertised vacancies fell by 506,000 in January, the data reveals. This drop follows a similar decline in December and reflects a 23 percent decrease for both months combined, compared with the same period in 2008.

Gad Levanon, senior economist at the Conference Board, said that jobseekers are likely to find it "increasingly hard" to obtain work.

"In December, the number of unemployed looking for work already exceeded the number of advertised vacancies by 7.3 million," Levanon added.

The news comes after thousands of jobs were slashed by U.S. firms in January, with threats of more to come.

But President Obama has promised that an economic stimulus package will be passed by mid-February, which will include billions of dollars aimed at creating and saving jobs.

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Online vacancies fell by 506,000 in January