Dallas job market continues uptick, study finds
Dallas job market continues uptick, study findsOnline recruitment of employees in the Dallas area continued to increase during March, according to a index conducted by Monster Worldwide Inc.
Online job availability rose to a level of 110 in March from 107 in February, according to the index. A rise in the index means there are more jobs being posted.
Both the sales and related category and office and administrative support category rose five points in March. Business and financial operations jumped four points and management jumped three points on the index.
The gains point to an improved corporate climate in Dallas-Fort Worth, the index says.
The number of online job postings for construction and extraction reached its highest level since the index was started. The increase was spurred by higher demand for laborers in the Gulf Coast states and Texas’ mining sector.
Job postings for food preparation and hospitality-related occupations also saw a higher rate of increase as restaurant and hotel managers staff for the upcoming season.
The index is compiled monthly by researchers at New York-based job Web site, Monster Worldwide Inc. (Nasdaq: MNST). The index is a snapshot of online recruitment activity in 28 markets with the largest working populations, using online job postings as an indicator of employer demand for employees.
Monster said the Dallas area is enjoying solid population growth from relocation and in-migration. Payroll employment in the Dallas-Fort Worth area is growiing at a faster pace than the national average, the company said.
Read MoreArea’s job growth keeps sales of new homes going up
Although nationwide building has slowed in recent months, North Texas builders are setting records for sales and starts, thanks to strong job growth. Sales of new homes in the Dallas-Fort Worth area rose about 15 percent in the first quarter. Starts also grew at a double-digit rate.
“We’ve gone above 50,000 annual starts for the first time,” said David Brown, director of Metrostudy’s Dallas-Fort Worth office. “What’s driving it are the job numbers. The Dallas-Fort Worth area currently ranks second in the country for job growth, with 92,300 jobs added in the last 12 months,” Mr. Brown said. Builders sold almost 11,000 houses in the first three months of 2006, according to statistics released by housing analyst Metrostudy Inc. During the same period, starts rose 13 percent to more than 12,000 homes. Not all the new-home market is booming. “The lower price points continue to slump,” said Ted Wilson of housing analyst Residential Strategies Inc. “Not surprising, the cancellation rates are high, especially in southern Dallas County.” Despite overall strong sales, the number of unsold new homes on the market increased by about 20 percent in the first quarter compared with a year earlier. At the end of March, there was more than a seven-month supply of new houses on the market.
Source: Dallas Morning News
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