Print Help-Wanted Index Tumbles to 49-Year Low

By: E&P Staff The Conference Board's Help-Wanted Index fell one point from May to June to 26. Year-over-year, the index was at 36.

According to a Reuters report, June's index marked a 49-year low for newspaper print classified volume.

All nine regions measured by the organization experienced declines. The biggest drops occurred in the Pacific (down 24.6%), East South Central (down 16.4%), and the Mountain (down 15.4%) regions.

The help-wanted index compiles help-wanted print advertising volume in 51 newspapers in the country.

"Business caution about the near-term prospects for the economy and perhaps for their own businesses, may lead to a little less hiring this autumn," Ken Goldstein, a labor economist at the Conference Board, said in a statement. "Online volume showed a little loss in momentum in recent months."

Total online jobs in June declined 2% to 94,000 from May.