Investing May 29, 2003

Conference Board: Job Ads Kept Dropping In April

May 29, 2003 (PLANSPONSOR.com) - US companies continued cutting back on their help wanted advertising in April as the Conference Board's Help-Wanted Advertising Index declined three points.
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According to the Conference Board, the index now stands at 35, down from 38 in March and significantly lower than the 47 mark from a year ago. In the last three months, help-wanted advertising declined in all nine regions of the US The sharpest drops occurred in the East South Central (-32.0), Middle Atlantic (-18.4), Pacific (-16.4%) and New England (-15.7%) areas.

“April may represent a low point for the ailing labor market,” Conference Board Economist Ken Goldstein said in a statement. “After initial unemployment claims revealed a big rise in layoffs, want-ad volume significantly declined from already very depressed levels. Clearly, businesses have been busy laying off workers and scaling back already greatly reduced plans to hire. If the overall economy remains weak heading into the third quarter, a return to job growth earlier than the fourth quarter doesn’t seem likely.”

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The Conference Board surveys help-wanted ads in 51 US newspapers across the country every month.

Products May 28, 2003

Fidelity Offers Access to Health Coach Support

May 28, 2003 (PLANSPONSOR.com) - Fidelity Investments and Health Dialog are teaming up to bring Fidelity's health and welfare outsourcing clients an integrated benefit and care management service.
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The partnership is designed to address employee health issues, thereby allowing participants to make more informed health care decision that might ultimately lead to reduced plan costs for their employers.    The service operates through registered nurses, registered dieticians, and certified respiratory therapists serving as Health Dialog Health Coaches, providing Disease Management and Decision Support to plan participants across more than 400 conditions, according to a news release.   

Health Dialog’s Disease Management services cover five chronic medical conditions:   diabetes, asthma, congestive heart failure, coronary artery disease and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.  

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Decision Support services extend to all other health care issues a participant may face, including:

  • Significant medical conditions – such as back pain, prostate cancer and benign uterine conditions
  • Symptom management – minor medical events such as bee stings or diaper rash
  • Health information and assistance – such as determining possible drug interactions.

Additionally, Fidelity collects and analyzes aggregate plan data, such as demographics, claim patterns and behavior trends to guide more effective plan design.   Fidelity will begin offering Health Dialog services to employers this spring as an optional component to its health and welfare outsourcing offering.

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