The Conference Board, which surveys 51 major newspapers across the country about their patterns of help-wanted ads every month, said its Help Wanted Advertising Index fell to 46 in March from a
downwardly revised reading of 47 in February. The index is down sharply from a reading of 67 in March 2001.
"The level of want-ad volume has been essentially unchanged since November," said Ken
Goldstein, an economist at the Conference Board. "The economy is recovering, but there is a relatively cautious stance on the part of employers in terms of increasing staff, and increasing labor
costs," he added.
Earlier in the day, the Labor Department reported that jobless claims fell by 31,000 to a seasonally adjusted 421,000 in the week ended April 20. Wall Street economists had
expected claims to come in at 425,000.