P.M. BRIEFING : Help-Wanted Ad Index Weakens
NEW YORK — A national index of help-wanted advertising weakened further in September, indicating the labor market slump shows no sign of easing, the index’s authors said today.
The Conference Board, a private business research organization based in New York, said advertising volume was hit by rising layoffs and general unemployment.
“The slumping labor market shows no sign of abating. Layoffs remain elevated, unemployment is slowly rising and want-ad volume continues to decline at a significant pace,” said Conference Board economist Ken Goldstein.
Advertising volume fell in seven regions and rose in only two. The Mountain and West South Central regions registered “modest” increases of 3.15% and 0.6%, respectively. The hardest hit was New England, with a 7.6% fall. It was followed by the Pacific, with a 6.9% decline, and West North Central, down 5.7%.
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