Says Ken Goldstein, labor economist at The Conference Board: "The slump on home buying and building, higher gas prices, higher grocery prices, and credit availability questions are combining to slow the economy. The Coincident Economic Index, a measure of where the economy is right now, was flat in October. That was the first month all year when it did not rise at all. The Leading Economic Indicators are pointing to little change in the coming months. The latest reading on the Consumer Confidence Index suggests people are beginning to fear for their job security and for the pace of wage growth. Perhaps the only good news is that the forward indicators of labor market activity are more flat than declining. This suggests the slow pace of the labor market this autumn could continue into the early months of 2008."
Online Advertised Job Vacancies Dip in October
In October there were 4,161,700 online advertised vacancies, a decrease of 108,300 or about -2.5 percent from the September level, according to The Conference Board Help-Wanted OnLine Data Series™. There were 2.71 advertised vacancies online for every 100 persons in the labor force in October.
ABOUT THE HELP-WANTED ADVERTISING INDEX
The Conference Board surveys help-wanted print advertising volume in 51 major newspapers across the country every month. Because ad volume has proven to be sensitive to labor market conditions, this measure provides a gauge of change in the local, regional and national supply of jobs.
