Data from the global non-profit Conference Board shows, from the middle of May to the middle of June, companies posted more than 45,000 job ads in the region.

That’s about 2,000 more than the previous month, which is normal for a month when many students and graduates need jobs.

But more importantly, says central Ohio economist Bill Lafayette, the survey showed an increase of 8,000 job ads over the same time last year.

“Overall, Columbus has gained back more than 80 percent of the jobs that we lost in the recession,” Lafayette says.

Much of that, Lafayette says, is because of hiring increases in manufacturing.

In this latest survey, the most wanted workers were truck drivers, retails sales employees, and customer sales representatives.