An article in the May 7 Portland Business Journal reported that a study at the University of Oregon claimed the decline of help-wanted listings at The Oregonian as a negative indicator of the state’s economic health. But can listings in The Oregonian or any other periodical (including WW) really accurately depict the job market, now that we have websites like Craigslist?
University of Oregon economics department head Larry D. Singell Jr. explains he’s not convinced Craigslist is superior. He claims the site lists only particular kinds of jobs. “It changes more fluidly, but suffers in its thoroughness,” he says.
By noon on Monday, the number of job listings for Oregon (Portland, Bend, Eugene, Corvallis, East Oregon, Medford, the Coast, and Salem) on Craigslist totaled 27,363, with 22,102 in Portland alone. It includes 31 different job categories.
The Oregonian’s listings totaled just 4,623 at the same sample time. It included 29 job categories
Singell still maintains The Oregonian is a better source. “You’d see a similar pattern with Craigslist,” he says, “but the markets they’re serving are different than the traditional want-ads.”
However, he says the 12-year-old online company is a relatively new phenomenon in the economic research world. “It is underutilized,” he admits. “Scholars and government agencies need to recognize the availability of Craigslist and use it.”
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Just another indication that the Boregonian is DYING.
I think the U of O researcher is high.
I’ve gotten all my jobs (in high tech) either by word of mouth or on craigslist. I got my 4runner on craigslist. Before I bought my house I got my lovely victorianesque apartment on craigslist. In my 20’s I got much of my Dania/IKEA furniture on craigslist (slightly used is better than driving to Seattle.) I’ve met people of my similar persuasion on craigslist.
If I wanted to make just slightly higher than minimum wage in customer service I would go to the Oregonian job listings; otherwise for my career, I go to craigslist.
However, I do go often to oregonlive.com for local news.
The decline in job postings in the Oregonian may be because they just imposed an additional non-optional $65 charge PER AD to all their print classified ads to also be listed on Oregonlive. I used to place 6 ads a week for my clients every week in the Oregonian. Now I place none. I use craigslist.