Truck Drivers and Registered Nurses Continue to be the Most Sought After Employees

Source: Anheuser Busch Inbev

Data collected and analyzed by the Alabama Department of Labor’s Labor Market
Information Division shows that the most online wanted ads were for heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers,
registered nurses, and retail salespersons, with 6,504 ads placed for those occupations in January. Overall ads
were up over the year by 2.7%.
The Help Wanted Online (HWOL) data is compiled from all online job postings in the state, including those
posted on the state’s free online jobs database, www.joblink.alabama.gov, and other sources; such as traditional
job boards, corporate boards, and social media sites. There were 36,706 online ads this month, of those 13,001
were new ads.
Heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers earn a mean wage of $19.71 per hour, registered nurses earn a mean
wage of $28.14 per hour, and retail salespersons earn a mean wage of $13.41 per hour.

“The Huntsville MSA continues to demonstrate extremely high demand for qualified workers. In the previous
quarter, Help Wanted Online job ads showed more ads than those people considered to be unemployed. With a
quarterly average of 6,780 online job ads and average unemployed of 6,772, we can clearly see the demand for
additional qualified workers in the metropolitan area. This equates to approximately 1.04 ads for every
unemployed person in the same period,” said Fitzgerald Washington, Secretary of the Alabama Department of
Labor.
The top three employers posting ads in January were: Pizza Hut (604), UAB Medicine (548), and Lowe’s (503).
Thirty-six percent of all online ads are less than 30 days old, and 69% of all ads are less than 90 days old.
“We’d like to encourage anyone who needs a job, or wants a different job, to come into one of our Career
Centers for assistance,” said Washington. “Our trained staff can assist you in obtaining the career you want.”
A listing of Career Centers can be found at www.joblink.alabama.gov.