NEW YORK, July 29 (UPI) -- Help-wanted ads for U.S. jobs fell slightly in June, the Conference Board of New York said Thursday.
The Board's Help-Wanted Advertising Index -- which measures the U.S. job market -- fell one point from 39 to 38 in June, down from May. The index was 38 in June 2003.
"Help-wanted advertising volume was on a slow upward trend through February but has now been virtually flat over a four-month period," Conference Board economist Ken Goldstein said.
During the last three months, help-wanted advertising fell in five of the nine U.S. regions. The biggest declines were in the Pacific region (8.9 percent), the East North Central area (7.6 percent, and the East South Central region, (7.5 percent).
Ad volume increases occurred in the South Atlantic area (5.5 percent), in the New England region (4.1 percent), in the Mountain region (4 percent), and in the Middle Atlantic region (0.7 percent).
Thirty-one percent of U.S. markets showed rising want-ad volume in June, compared to 74 percent in May, the board said. Unemployment hovered at 5.6 percent from April-June.
The Conference Board surveys help-wanted advertising volume in 51 major newspapers across the country every month.
