Software engineers in high demand as Metro Detroit online job postings slow during second quarter

DETROIT, MI – Online job openings in greater Detroit fell 21 percent year-over-year to 72,941 postings in the second quarter of this year, according to a report released Monday by the Workforce Intelligence Network of Southeast Michigan (WIN).

Read the full report here.

WIN tracks nine counties in Southeast Michigan, including Genesee, Livingston, Macomb, Monroe, Oakland, Shiawassee, St. Clair, Washtenaw and Wayne, as well as the City of Detroit

Online job postings dropped by double-digits year-over-year in Livingston (down 24.8 percent), Macomb, (down 34.2 percent) and Oakland (down 40.8 percent) counties, but the online listings rose by 13.8 percent in the city of Detroit during the period. Online postings also grew 30.3 percent in St. Clair. Oakland County accounted for more than 71 percent of the drop in online postings during the quarter.

Although overall job openings fell compared with the second quarter of 2012, they were up 11.5 percent compared to the first quarter of 2013. WIN also says that despite the annual drop, job demand from employers remains “strong” and is up almost 40 percent from pre-recession levels.

“The data reveal that employers are still looking for workers, although at a less frantic pace than a year ago,” WIN Executive Director Lisa Katz says. “Strong demand in the form of online postings is good news for the Southeast Michigan economy.”

Also noteworthy, WIN says, is that, like other economic indicators, key hiring and employment indicators typically lag one to two years. The agency says that employers may have made a glut of hires in 2012 as the economy appeared to stabilize.

Here are other key findings from WIN’s latest report:

“The most significant job growth continues in three key occupational clusters:
o Information Technology
o Healthcare
o Manufacturing

• The region’s top 5 job postings for Q2 2013 were:
o Software developers (3,061)
o Sales representatives, wholesale and manufacturing, except technical and scientific products (2,245)
o Retail salespersons (2,210)
o Registered nurses (1,956)
o Customer service representatives (1,639)

• Each county and the City of Detroit showed gains in job postings in the Q2 2013 when compared to Q1 2013, except Macomb County.”

David Muller is the business reporter for MLive Media Group in Detroit. Email him at dmuller@mlive.com or follow him on Twitter.