The Conference Board Help-Wanted Advertising Index — a key measure of job offerings in major newspapers across America — inched up one point in December. The Index now stands at 22. It was 33 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 Pacific (-18.9%) and South Atlantic (-16.3%) regions. The East North Central region (2.5%) showed a modest increase.

Says Ken Goldstein, labor economist at The Conference Board: "The latest readings in print want-ad volume show a flat trend in the last three months of the year. The lack of stronger job prospects is resulting in very cautious and nervous consumer attitudes and spending patterns. Meanwhile, with corporate profits no longer rising strongly, business is turning cautious about taking on relatively expensive labor. While there are pockets of the nation in recession (Michigan, Indiana, New York, New Jersey, Silicon Valley to name a few), there is not yet a national recession. Nor will there be a recession unless the decline in labor market activity intensifies and spreads to more parts of the country. Data through December suggest that is not the case."