Help-wanted index unchanged

The Conference Board's Help-Wanted Advertising Index—a barometer of the U.S. job market—was unchanged in February. The Index now stands at 41. It was 40 one year ago.

In the last three months, help-wanted advertising increased in all nine regions of the U.S. Largest increases occurred in the Mountain (45 percent), West South Central (17.5 percent) and East North Central (14.9 percent) regions.

Conference Board Economist Ken Goldstein said, "After two monthly gains, the latest measure of labor demand is unchanged. The data on initial unemployment claims and in JOLTS (Job Opportunity and Labor Turnover) also show a positive but somewhat uneven pattern. The Conference Board's Coincident Economic Indicators—a good measure of current economic activity —has been very steady, and the Leading Economic Indicators have improved in two of the last three months. That's the kind of positive but choppy trendline likely for new job creation over the next few months."

The Conference Board surveys help-wanted 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.