Monstrous Claims

Is Philly's job market rallying?

by Brian Howard

A recent report from Monster.com, the behemoth online job portal, suggests that Philadelphia's efforts to become the East Coast's tech hotspot may be bearing fruit. According to its year-to-year employment outlook for the region, the number of job postings has increased by 51 percent, with the biggest leaps in sales (31 percent), IT (68 percent), accounting and auditing (46 percent), and administrative and support services (27 percent). Other indicators: 35 percent of the postings target midcareer employees, there are 7 percent more resumes posted for jobs in Philadelphia and 33,000 of Monster.com's job seekers indicate a willingness to relocate here.

According to Steve Pogorzelski, president of Monster North America, the portal began conducting monthly city-specific employment outlooks over the last several months. These started as "an offshoot of the national study we do every month," he explains, adding that the national study has shown to be a strong predictor of studies conducted by the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

It's an interesting concept, since labor statistics have always come with a bit of muddiness because they are based on employer surveys inquiring about intent to hire, door-to-door general population surveys into whether people are working, or payroll surveys, which may have money on the books for jobs that no longer exist.

"If I'm an employer, I can always say I'm going to hire," says Pogorzelski. "If I'm posting those jobs [on a site], I'm putting my money where my mouth is."

Of course, the only thing these results prove conclusively is that more Philadelphians are using Monster.com this year. Do the numbers really foretell boom times for the city?

"It's great news for the economic region," figures Peter Cappelli, professor of management at Wharton and director of the school's center for human resources. "There was, over the last few years, an enormous increase in firms using online recruiting. Now every employer of any size has used [it]. If anything, there's a move away from the big job boards. I'd say it's a pretty good measure."

According to Pogorzelski, the midcareer positions indicate that middle-management jobs—the first to go in the most recent recession—could be coming back. As the job market recovers, he says, the country "will face a retention crisis" as workers who've been stretched thin rush to new opportunities with better pay, benefits and work/life balance. If Monster.com's right, Philly could be a good place to be if you've been doing too much for too little for too long.