MAR. HELP WANTED INDEX FALLS TO ALL-TIME LOW AT 19
The Conference Board’s Help Wanted Index fell 2 points in March to 19, a new record low. Analysts were expecting the index to fall 1 point to 20. The Help Wanted Index stood at 29 in Mar-07.
Conference Board Labor Economist Ken Goldstein predicted the labor market will worsen before it improves, saying, “The cumulative impact of the housing crisis, financial market turmoil, higher energy and other prices is slowing the overall economy and resulting in job cuts and reduced hiring intentions with the prospect that declines may steepen.”
Help-wanted advertising declined in all 9 US regions over the past 3 months, with the steepest declines occurring in the East North Central (down 20.3%), West North Central (down 18.1%), and East South Central (down 16.7%) regions.