Demand for recruiters bounced back in January after a decline toward the end of 2011, according to data from Wanted Analytics, a firm that tracks online job ads. Wanted counted 6,100 new online job ads for recruiters and employment specialists in January. Although it was a slight decrease from the post-recession high in August, demand for these jobs is still up 26 percent compared to January 2011.

Fifty-five percent of all recruiting job ads in January were placed by direct employers, while staffing firms placed the remaining 45 percent of job ads. Metropolitan areas with the highest demand for recruiters included New York, Washington, Chicago, Boston and Dallas. Seattle and Atlanta saw the most hiring growth, though, with job ads rising by 92.2 percent and 90.6 percent, respectively, compared with January 2011.