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HELP WANTED ADVERTISING
DIPS THREE POINTS
The Conference Board's Help- Wanted Advertising Index dipped to 84 in August, down three points from July. The figure was 81 one year ago.
In the last three months, help-wanted advertising rose in seven regions across the nation and fell in two. The largest increase was in the West North Central region (9.9%). It was followed by the East South Central (8.1%), East North Central (4.6%) and West South Central (5.9%) regions. Declines were in the Middle Atlantic (—4.8%) and New England (—3.4%) regions.
“After three and a half years of expansion, the demand for labor is still strong,” says Conference Board Economist Ken Goldstein. “Wage gains have not yet been driven up by tight labor market conditions. This is one reason why businesses continue to plan more hiring through the second half of 1997. During the last three years, the economy has generated in excess of 230,000 net jobs per month. Job and income growth and a three-decade high in consumer confidence are major forces behind sustained consumption increases.”
The Conference Board surveys help-wanted advertising volume in 51 major newspapers across the country every month. Because want ad volume has proven to be sensitive to labor market conditions, this measure provides a gauge of change in the local, regional, or national supply of jobs.
Latest Seasonally-Adjusted Results
Aug 97 Jul 97 Jun 97 Aug 96 National Index 84 87 88 81 Proportion of Labor Markets with Rising Want-Ad Volume 39% 43% 88% 43% Unemployment Rate 4.9% 4.8% 5.0% 5.2%
September 25, 1997 The Conference Board
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