The Conference Board Help-Wanted Advertising Index — a key measure of job offerings in major newspapers across America — dipped one point in March. The Index now stands at 30. It was 37 one year ago.

In the last three months, help-wanted advertising declined in eight of the nine U.S. regions. Steepest declines occurred in the East South Central (-22.6%), South Atlantic (-17.5%) and East North Central (-17.0%) regions. The New England region rose 3.2%.

Says Ken Goldstein, labor economist at The Conference Board: "The forward indicators of labor market activity have been mixed in recent months. The economy has lost a little momentum and growth prospects remain somewhat questionable. But business confidence regained a little strength in the first quarter, suggesting that employers may be inclined to hire workers if their business growth does not fall. The relatively modest ad volume now could be a signal that job growth may be modest (not more than 130,000 per month) this summer."

Online Job Ads Dipped in March

Help-wanted postings on major job boards declined 2 percent in March, according to The Conference Board Help-Wanted OnLine Data Series. However, the March dip in advertised job vacancies was likely the result of fewer days in the February-March reference period.

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.

Latest seasonally-adjusted results follow: