• September 28, 2000

The Conference Board's Help-Wanted Advertising Index dropped to 78 in August, down four points from July. It was 86 one year ago.

In the last three months, help-wanted advertising declined in all regions except for New England. Steepest declines were in the East North Central (-9.1%), Middle Atlantic (-7.4%), South Atlantic (-6.3%) and Mountain (-4.5%) regions.

Conference Board Economist Ken Goldstein says, "Initial claims for unemployment insurance are now above levels recorded this spring. A slight slowing in hiring demand, accompanied by an increase in layoffs, signals a moderation of labor market activity heading into the last four months of the year. The big question is whether business is running out of tasks to be filled by new workers, or running out of job applicants who can handle new work."

The Conference Board surveys help-wanted advertising volume in 51 major newspapers across the country every month. Because ad volume has proven to be sensitive to labor market conditions, this measure provides a gauge of change in the local, regional and national supply of jobs.