2007 U.S. Economic Calendar                      POWERED BY   Help Wanted Index Released on 7/26/07 For Jun 2007 Help-Wanted Index - Level Actual 26 2007 Release Schedule Released On: 1/25 2/22 3/29 4/26 5/31 6/28 7/26 8/30 9/27 10/25 11/29 12/28 Released For: Dec Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Definition The help wanted index is a monthly index of the number of lines of help-wanted advertising in 51 major newspapers from around the country. This index indicates strength or weakness in the labor market. Why Do Investors Care? In addition to providing insight on the general strength of the economy, this report gives a sense of how many jobs employers are trying to fill. If that number is relatively high, it could mean there is a shortage of available workers and companies may have to offer higher wages to attract them. This leads to wage inflation, which is bad news for the stock and bond markets. Federal Reserve officials are always worried about the potential for inflationary pressures. When the help wanted index is falling, this bodes well for the bond market because it implies a drop in labor demand and perhaps an economic downturn. While the Fed worries about inflation, they also are concerned about rising unemployment. A rising jobless rate can mean a more accommodative monetary policy. The help wanted index never recovered after the 2001 recession and remained low through 2005. It is possible that more companies are using web sites rather than newspapers to advertise for changes. The Web offers less expensive advertising than newspapers. Legal Notices |© Copyright 2000 -2007 Econoday, Inc.