First, the good news: Sacramento employers are posting more jobs.

Now, the not-so-good: Competition for those positions remains among the toughest in the country.

Employment website SimplyHired.com, based in Sunnyvale, crunched the numbers for its August 2012 employment outlook, which focuses on industry and employer trends in markets across the country.

Sacramento employers posted more than 37,000 openings on SimplyHired.com – a 5 percent increase month-over-month, and a 9 percent year-over-year hike – good for 20th out of the nation's top 50 metropolitan areas.

The numbers run apace of the national numbers: Nationwide job openings rose 4.5 percent month-over-month and about 10 percent year-over-year.

Local postings were led by the health care sector with Sutter Health and acute-care provider Kindred Healthcare among the top five employers.

That falls in line with national trends.

More than 40 percent of the top hiring firms in July were health care-related, according to SimplyHired.

But Sacramento-area job seekers outpace job openings by a 6-to-1 ratio.

That's twice the nationwide ratio of the unemployed for every job opening.

Only Las Vegas and the Miami-Fort Lauderdale metro areas have ratios as high as Sacramento.

SimplyHired.com tracks job-posting activity by culling information from thousands of online job boards, newspapers and search engines, along with U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data.

Career Expo at J Street

Job Journal's latest HIREvent is Aug. 21 in Sacramento.

Sacramento's Career Expo is set for noon to 4 p.m. at the Masonic Temple, 1123 J St. Job seekers can meet with employers from the region's public and private sectors at the free event and receive free résumé critiques from employment experts on site.

For more information, visit jobjournal.com or call Job Journal's job search information line at (888) 843-5627.

Wanted: custodians

Sacramento Public Library will host a job fair Aug. 31 to seek full- and part-time custodians.

The free fair is 9 a.m to noon at the Tsakapoulos Library Galleria & West Meeting Room, 828 I St., Sacramento.

The library is looking for candidates with a high school diploma or GED, at least six months of professional custodial experience and customer service skills.

Library staff will conduct mini-interviews until noon.

Candidates can find a full job description and complete applications online at www.calopps.org and are asked to bring them to the fair. A valid driver's license may be required.

For more information, call the library at (916) 265-2758.

Arden Hills seeks trainer

Arden Hills Resort Club & Spa in Sacramento is hiring.

The resort is seeking a food and beverage manager and a certified personal trainer among other positions.

For more information, visit www.ardenhills.net/ employment.php.

Let us hear from you

Is your company hiring? Is your organization hosting a career fair? Is your campus rolling out a job-skills program? Contact Job Front at dvsmith@sacbee.com.

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