Benefits April 24, 2003

Help-Wanted Index Dips in March

April 24, 2003 (PLANSPONSOR.com) - The number of managers looking for employees via a newspaper ad dipped slightly in March.
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The Conference Board’s Help-Wanted Advertising Index, which measures help-wanted ad volume in 51 major US papers, was down to 38 in March from February’s 40. It stood at 45 a year ago, according to the Conference Board.

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Help-wanted advertising declined in the last three months in five of the nine regions of the US:

  • East South Central (-21.2)
  • West North Central (-12.8%)
  • Pacific (-10.2%)
  • West South Central (-5.1%)
  • East North Central (-2.1%)

Conversely, increases occurred in the Mountain (33.1%), New England (16.4%), South Atlantic (1.9%), and Middle Atlantic (2.4%) regions.

” The delayed recovery in the job market now suggests that the earliest the labor market will snap back to life will be later this year or even early next year,” says Conference Board Economist Ken Goldstein.

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