What Is the Help-Wanted Index?
Let me explain the Help-Wanted Index, or HWI, from The Conference Board. It measures how efficiently employers are matching jobs to the available workforce, specifically the unemployed, and it serves as an important gauge of the economy.
The Conference Board created this index in 1951 to expand their portfolio of employment statistics. You'll see its most obvious role in tracking changes in employment demand through classified newspaper ads, which acts as a leading indicator of unemployment. But I find the more meaningful aspect is how it indirectly measures slack in the job market—essentially, how many jobs go unfilled or how efficient the job-matching process really is.
Understanding the Help-Wanted Index (HWI)
When the HWI is rising, it indicates a relatively large number of positions that need filling. You can interpret this as a shortage of workers. Employers might have to raise wages to attract them, which could lead to wage inflation and have a negative effect on bond and equity markets.
The index was first created in 1951 by totaling the lines of help-wanted classified ads from 51 leading newspapers, each from a different metropolitan statistical area in the United States.
How the HWI Is Structured and Released
The HWI was restructured to equal 100 in 1987, and it's released to the public in a monthly press release. The Conference Board provides a national number for the HWI, along with regional numbers for nine segments of the country, and a percentage representing the proportion of the labor market with rising want-ad volume. You can find the current HWI report on the Conference Board's website.
About The Conference Board
The Conference Board consists of a board of chairmen and trustees, along with its voting members. Most recently, these positions have been filled by high-ranking executives from corporations such as Deutsche Bank, BBVA, Deere & Company, Johnson & Johnson, Monsanto, MasterCard, General Electric, Novartis, and State Farm Insurance.
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