December Help Wanted Index: 22 vs. 21 Prior
The Conference Board Helped Wanted Index grew 1 point to 22 after a reading of 33 last year. In the last 3 months help wanted ads declined in 8 of 9 US regions with the steepest declines in the Pacific and South Atlantic.
Fewer job prospects have lead to nervous consumer attitudes and spending patterns, and reduced business spending has made employers less willing to offer higher paid positions, according to Conference Board labor economist Ken Goldstein.
Goldstein says there are “pockets of the nation in recession”– New York, Michigan, Indiana, New Jersey — but did not forecast a national recession unless labor market weakness spreads further, into the broader economy. Goldstein believes the data through December do not suggest a recession.