NEW YORK, Sept. 29 (UPI) -- The number of help wanted ads in big U.S. newspapers fell last month, an industry group said Thursday.
The Conference Board said its index of help wanted ads in major U.S. newspapers declined 4 percentage points in August to 35.
In the last three months, help-wanted advertising declined in seven of the nine U.S. regions.
"Key market indicators gave ground just before the storms and flooding. While print want-ad volume rose a bit in June and July, it sagged to May levels in August," a board spokesman said.
"Consumers' concerns about finding a new job were also essentially the same in
August as in May, but declined noticeably in September, after the hurricanes and flooding. Latest readings show that job growth has been downsized significantly. Before the storms, there was a chance for 150,000 to 175,000 jobs per month over the near term. However, prospects may now be reduced by as much as half of that."
