Key market indicators gave ground just before the storms and flooding
Ken Goldstein, Labor Economist at The Conference Board

The Help-Wanted Advertising Index - measure of job offerings in major newspapers across America - declined four points in August. The Index now stands at 35, down from 39 in July. It was 37 one year ago.

In the last three months, help-wanted advertising declined in seven of the nine U.S. regions. Steepest declines occurred in the West South Central (-19.4%) and West North Central (-10.8%) regions.

Says Ken Goldstein, Labor Economist at The Conference Board: "Key market indicators gave ground just before the storms and flooding. While print want-ad volume rose a bit in June and July, it sagged to May levels in August. Consumers' concerns about finding a new job were also essentially the same in August as in May, but declined noticeably 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."

But online want-ad volume continued to edge higher. The Conference Board Help-Wanted OnLine Data Series™ reports the number of new online job ads rose to 2,130,000 in the month of August. This latest monthly figure is up over 4 percent from early summer (June 2005), with gains in eight of the nine major regions of the country.

The Conference Board surveys help-wanted print advertising volume in 51 major newspapers across the country every month. Because ad volume has proven to be sensitive to labor market conditions, this measure provides a gauge of change in the local, regional and national supply of jobs.