Benefits September 29, 2005

US Help-Wanted Advertising Index Declines

September 29, 2005 (PLANSPONSOR.com) - The Conference Board Help-Wanted Advertising Index, which is a key measure of job offerings in US newspapers, has declined four points for August.
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According to a Conference Board press release, help-wanted advertising has declined in the last three months, with the biggest declines being in the West South Central region (-19.4%) and the West North Central region (-10.8%).

Ken Goldstein, Labor Economist at The Conference Board said that consumers’ concerns about finding a new job also increased in September after the hurricanes and flooding. “Latest readings show that job growth has been downsized significantly. Before the storms, there was a chance for 150,000 to 175,000 jobs per month over the near term. However, prospects may now be reduced by as much as half of that,” he said in the news release.

The Conference Board Help-Wanted OnLine Data Series however, reports the number of new online job ads rose over 4%from June to August, with gains in eight of the nine major regions of the country.

Because ad volume has proven to be sensitive to labor market conditions, The Conference Board’s index provides a gauge of change in the local, regional, and national supply of jobs.

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