The Conference Board Help-Wanted Advertising Index - a key measure of job offerings in major newspapers across America - dipped one point in July. The Index now stands at 25. It was 31 one year ago.

In the last three months, help-wanted advertising declined in all nine U.S. regions. Largest declines occurred in the West North Central (-17.4%), Mountain (-16.6%) and Pacific (-16.3%) regions. Says Ken Goldstein, labor economist at The Conference Board: "Despite housing problems, higher gas prices, higher grocery prices, even higher property taxes for some households, the consumer sector has been holding up all year because the labor market has held up. Job, but not wage, growth has slowed a little since the spring and it could slow a little more.

That is the indication in the latest count in the number of print help-wanted ads. Online ad volume increases have also slowed a little this summer. In part, this reflects an economy that is slower in the third quarter than it was in the second. Both the economy and the job market could be growing a little more slowly in the fourth quarter, but not slowing dramatically. And to date, the data show no suggestion that the economy is in danger of slipping into recession before the year is out."

Online Advertised Job Vacancies Dip in July

In July, there were 4,084,200 online advertised vacancies, a largely seasonal decline of 196,200 or 4.6 percent from the June level, according to The Conference Board Help-Wanted OnLine Data Series. There were 2.65 advertised vacancies online for every 100 persons in the labor force in July.