The Conference Board Help-Wanted Advertising Index — a key measure of job offerings in major newspapers across America — declined two points in August. The Index now stands at 23. It was 29 one year ago.

In the last three months, help-wanted advertising declined in all nine U.S. regions. Largest declines occurred in the New England (-25.4%), South Atlantic (-18.4%) and Middle Atlantic (-16.9%) regions.

Says Ken Goldstein, labor economist at The Conference Board: "The slump in home buying and building, higher gas prices and grocery prices, and credit availability questions have combined to weaken the overall economy, drain consumer confidence, and slow the labor market.

Until August, the labor market held up surprisingly well. But the forward indicators of labor market activity are consistent with slow growth. August then may have been an off month with respect to job growth. The data suggest slow job growth ahead, but growth nonetheless. The labor market is not grinding to a halt."

Online Advertised Job Vacancies Virtually Unchanged in August

In August, there were 4,104,800 online advertised job vacancies, an increase of 20,600 or 0.5 percent from the July 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 August.