A key indicator that measures job offerings in major newspapers nationwide held steady in June, the Conference Board reported Thursday.
The Help-Wanted Advertising Index stands at 33, unchanged from May but down from 39 one year ago.
In the last three months, help-wanted advertising declined in all nine regions of the United States. Steepest declines occurred in the West North Central (-16.8 percent), Middle Atlantic (-15.3 percent) and the Pacific (-13.3 percent) regions.
“The latest data shows that classified job advertising in newspapers held steady in June while the rise in ad volume online continued to slow. These readings had signaled a cooling off in labor demand as early as this past winter,” said Ken Goldstein, labor economist at The Conference Board. “Only 121,000 new jobs opened up in June. The latest ad volume readings suggest that job growth late this summer and going into the fall may be just as slow. Consumers are bracing for just such a development, as indicated in our consumer confidence survey. CEO confidence surveys show that the average executive is no more bullish about the economy in general and the labor market in particular than is the average consumer.”
In the Conference Board’s Help-Wanted OnLine Data series, the number of new ads for online job ads last month increased to 2.44 million. The June increase of 81,800 new ads was up 3 percent from May.
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.
