Top-level job openings rebound in May; Midwest, West slowest to recover

The number of job openings for C-level, VP, Director and managerial candidates improved in May for the first time since November 2008, according to recent data from CareerCast.com/JobSerf Employment Index, which measures managerial recruitment activity across the United States.

Despite the May hike, managerial job listings have fallen 41 percent in the past 12 months, according to the research.

According to the survey, the number of executive and management-level job openings posted online had an index value of 56.6 in May 2009, up from 41.4 in April 2009. However, that compares to a May 2008 index of 95.8 -- showing how far online job listings have fallen in the past year.

According to CareerCast, "CXO and VP level positions benefited the most from the recent rebound in job posting activity," and "C-Level job listings had been down significantly over the last five months, and in March 2009 earned the lowest Index score of any level over the past 17 months."

The slowest regions of the country to recover have been Midwest and Western states, which have seen only about 60 percent of the gains experienced by the rest of the United States. By metropolitan area, Washington, D.C. has the healthiest job market, reporting about eight times as many job listings online per capita as compared to the weakest metro area, Detroit.

The Northeast and Southeast U.S. have recovered 1st quarter losses and are already at the same levels seen in January 2009, according to the study.

Methodology for the research is available here.