where uic is the monthly average of weekly initial unemployment insurance claims and hwi is Barnichon's (2010) composite
help-wanted index. Note that, given our timing convention for the flows, the hazard rates effectively enter the VAR lagged by 1 month.
The
Help-Wanted Index surveys print advertising volume in 51 major newspapers across the country.
The Conference Board suggests that these data be used cautiously until a longer series is available to understand any seasonal patterns and correlations with other labor market statistics such as the Board's
help-wanted index and employment and vacancy data from BLS.
The board also produces the Consumer Confidence Index, the
Help-Wanted Index and major economic, corporate governance and other management reports that have an impact on both business and the financial markets.
Also on the labor front, The Conference Board reported that its
help-wanted index, a reflection of the health of the labor market, moved up two percentage points from August, but was still down 10 points from the previous year.
The country's
help-wanted index rose 1.3% to 160 in September, more than double the increase expected by economists, suggesting that companies are feeling comfortable enough about economic growth to hire additional personnel.
Into these data were merged aggregate indicators of labor and product market conditions in each country: the prime-age male unemployment rate, a national
help-wanted index normalized by the size of the labor force, the consumer price index (CPI), two-digit industry average hourly earnings (AHE), two-digit industry employment, gross national product (GNP), and the Canadian-U.S.
A slowdown is also apparent in the employment indicators: Average hours worked in manufacturing and the Conference Board's
help-wanted index suffered sharp declines in the second quarter of 1995.
Key numbers, reporting agency and source publication, usual timing, reference period and revision are referenced for all major weekly, monthly, quarterly and annually published indicators, ranging in diversity from car sales and the
help-wanted index to money and credit aggregates.
The Conference Board's
Help-Wanted Index fell one point to 21 in January compared to December.
The only other existing national measure of excess labor demand is the Conference Board's Help-Wanted Advertising Index (
Help-Wanted Index).
The HELP coefficient (from the
help-wanted index) will show the response to recessions and expansions--increased labor demand during expansions and decreased demand during recessions.