Investing February 28, 2002

Help-Wanted Advertising Flat in January

February 28, 2002 (PLANSPONSOR.com) -The number of advertisements for job openings is no longer declining, indicating that the demand for labor seems to have bottomed out, according to new data from the Conference Board's Help-Wanted Advertising Index.
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The index, a measure of the US job market, remained flat at 47 in the first month of the year, the same level recorded in December 2001, but 64% higher than the 77 recorded one year ago.

In the last three months, help-wanted advertising rose in six of the nine US regions, with the largest increased occurring in:

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  • the Mountain region, where help-wanted advertising increased by 23.8%
  • the East South Central area, where it was up by 10.1% .

The steepest decline occurred in the Middle Atlantic region, where job vacancy advertising fell by -6.0%.

January’s unemployment rate stood at 5.6%, according to official figures.

The Conference Board surveys help-wanted advertising volume in 51 major newspapers across the country on a monthly basis.

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