Help-Wanted Ad Index Dips, Shows Job Insecurity

New York, NY, December 3, 2007--The Conference Board Help-Wanted Advertising Index — a key measure of job offerings in major newspapers across America — dipped one point in October. The Index now stands at 23. It was 29 one year ago.

In the last three months, help-wanted advertising declined in all nine U.S. regions. Steepest declines occurred in the Pacific (-18.0%), West North Central (-14.7%) and East North Central (-14.3%) regions.

Says Ken Goldstein, labor economist at The Conference Board: "The slump on home buying and building, higher gas prices, higher grocery prices, and credit availability questions are combining to slow the economy.

The Coincident Economic Index, a measure of where the economy is right now, was flat in October. That was the first month all year when it did not rise at all. The group said economic indicators are pointing to little change in the coming months. The latest reading on the Consumer Confidence Index suggests people are beginning to fear for their job security and for the pace of wage growth.

In October there were 4,161,700 online advertised vacancies, a decrease of 108,300 or about -2.5% from the September level, the board said. There were 2.71 advertised vacancies online for every 100 persons in the labor force in October.