
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: FRIDAY, October 28, 1994                   TAG: 9410280090
SECTION: BUSINESS                    PAGE: A13   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: STAFF REPORT
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Short

WANT ADS INDICATE HIRING HAS SLIPPED

A national index monitoring the demand for labor slipped two points in September but is expected to recover during the holiday season.

The Conference Board, a private New York-based business research agency, said Thursday its Help-Wanted Advertising Index dropped to 117 points last month from 119 in August. But it's up from 100 points in September 1993.

The index is based on the volume of classified jobs advertising in 51 U.S. newspapers, 43 percent of which reported increasing volume of want-ads last month. That compares with 33 percent in August and 49 percent in September 1993.

"After a strong beginning to this recovery, the labor market has hit a plateau," said Conference Board economist Ken Goldstein. "Help-wanted advertising has remained very stable over the last three months. After a pace of about 300,000 new jobs opening up each month, new hiring has slowed somewhat."

Goldstein said he expects hiring to regain momentum in the final months of the year and in the first half of 1995. Consumer spending prior to the holidays will add to eocnomic growth and labor demand, he said.

by CNB