The U.S. labor market shows no sign of improvement in the near-term and is expected to deteriorate further, The Conference Board reported.

Job vacancies advertised online fell by a seasonally-adusted 216,000 in September to just over 4.4 million, with losses across all regions, according to the Board’s Help-Wanted Online Data Series. September’s losses continued a downward trend that began in May 2007. The Board also noted a shortage in qualified workers for higher-paying jobs.

“All in all, indications are that employment will deteriorate even more rapidly in the near term,” said senor economist Gad Levanon. “The current HWOL data indicates that labor demand was down in September even before the tumultuous events in the financial sector during the end of the month.”

Levanon noted the gap between the unemployed and advertised jobs has widened since 2007, to about two unemployed workers for each advertised opening. The direct effect of lower employer demand can also be seen in payroll employment trends, which turned south beginning in November 2007.

The full release.

Oct. 6 UPDATE:

The Conference Board reported its Employment Trends Index declined again in September “suggesting even more losses to come in the (U.S.) labor market.”

“The deterioration in the Employment Trends Index has become very pronounced, suggesting that the unemployment rate may very well exceed 7 percent as early as the second quarter of 2009,” said Gad Levanon, senior economist at the Conference Board. “The persistent slackening in labor market conditions, worsened by the financial crisis, has reached a level that in the past led to significantly slower wage growth across most industries.”

The index fell to 108.4 in September, down eight-tenths of a percent from a revised August figure and down almost 10 percent from one year ago.