There are three graphs accompanying this review:
1) A comparison of jobs in Birmingham and nationwide
2) A comparison of jobs in Birmingham and nationwide for the year of 2011 to date
3) A comparison of jobs available and resumes resident on the Alabama Career System Center web site.
The number of available positions in Birmingham dropped in June 2011. There has been a slight up-tick during the last week of the month. The job slide in Birmingham and Alabama is not as steep a decline as it is nationwide.
Comparison of the June employment picture with the rest of 2011 indicates a small but measurable increase in the number of positions available in Birmingham compared with January 2011. The number of positions available has fallen dramatically in Birmingham and nationwide in the last few months.
The data from the Alabama Career Systems Center indicates the number of persons looking for work has actually increased by 1% in June 2011 vs. January 2011.
The decrease in positions available can be attributed to a massive layoff by the city government, a large layoff by the state government, and tornado damage.
Some bright spots in Birmingham are science and engineering. Science positions in pharmaceuticals, quality control and management, and research have increased. KBR is hiring for new work in the Gulf of Mexico. Huntsville is also showing an up-tick in science hiring with the opening of one new facility and the expansion of several government programs and businesses that feed the government programs with equipment.
Most of the Japanese auto makers have recovered from the effects of the tsunami and supplies have recovered to normal.
Other bright spots in the employment arena include retail (mostly less than 40 hour positions), all medical (particularly nursing), and strangely manufacturing.
The University of Alabama Center for Business and Economic Research predicts 51,700 new jobs to be created in Alabama due to the tornado recovery. The funds for these jobs will come from insurance and federal assistance according to a report in the Cullman Times.
The data for the accompanying charts was collected on a daily basis at the same time of day from Indeed.com and the Alabama Career System Center. Indeed.com looks at the majority of positions available in the nation from the major job boards, newspapers, governments, and head hunters. Indeed is a great source for rational unmassaged job data on a daily basis.
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