More Help Wanted

March 29, 2002 (PLANSPONSOR.com) - The latest reading of the Conference Board's Help Wanted Advertising Index, a rough gauge of prospects for job hunters, points to a job market on the brink of recovery.

The Index, which measures the number of jobs on offer nation-wide climbed 3 points, to reach 51, from the previous month’s reading of 47. Despite the climb, the index remains at its lowest level in 40 years. A year ago, the index was at 72.

Of the nine geographical regions followed by the Conference Board, help-wanted advertising inched up in:

  • the East North Central region,
  • the South Atlantic,
  • the West South Central, and
  • the Pacific region

The Conference Board surveys 51 major newspapers across the US on their patterns of help-wanted advertisements each month.

The data follows the Department of Labor’s weekly unemployment benefits claims report, which showed the number of new filings rising by 18,000.

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