Online Labor Demand Increased in February

Solid Employment Growth to Continue in Coming Months

- In February, most states and MSAs experienced an increase in the number of online job ads

- In recent months, as oil prices declined, the growth in online job ads in most oil states was weaker than average

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Mar 06, 2019, 10:00 ET

NEW YORK, March 6, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- The Conference Board experimental Help Wanted OnLine (HWOL) Index increased in February. The Index now stands at 104.0 (July 2018=100), up from 103.7 in January.

"The HWOL index has been stable in recent months, despite the volatility in financial markets and business confidence. This is consistent with solid employment growth in the coming months," said Gad Levanon, Chief Economist, North America, at The Conference Board. "With the partial government shutdown ending, US-China trade tensions diminishing, and the recovery in stock prices, the US economy is much less likely to experience a major slowdown in the first half of 2019. We expect a gradual moderation in economic employment growth during 2019. Recruitment activity is likely to remain high as labor turnover will further increase in a tightening labor market."

The release schedule, national historic table and technical note are available on The Conference Board website, http://www.conference-board.org/data/helpwantedonline.cfm. The underlying data for The Conference Board HWOL is collected by CEB, Inc.

About The Conference Board
The Conference Board is the member-driven think tank that delivers trusted insights for what's ahead. Founded in 1916, we are a non-partisan, not-for-profit entity holding 501 (c) (3) tax-exempt status in the United States. www.conference-board.org

Note: Beginning with the December 2018 release, The Conference Board launched the Help Wanted OnLine® (HWOL) Index and the revised Help Wanted OnLine® Data Series. The HWOL Index measures changes over time in advertised online job vacancies, improving upon the prior Data Series' ability to assess local labor market trends. The index does not measure differences in the number of ads among geographies, occupations, or industries. It measures the change in ads relative to the base period (July 2018=100). An increase in the index is associated with an increase in job openings and hiring activity in the US economy. The revised HWOL Data Series reflects a new methodology and universe of online job ads. Both the revised HWOL Data Series and the HWOL Index begin in January 2012 (see technical note).

SOURCE The Conference Board