The Conference Board−Lightcast Help Wanted OnLine Index of job ads rose in April to a reading of 164.2 (July 2018=100), up from March’s reading of 161.5. The increase of 1.7% between March and April follows a 3.9% decrease between February and March.

The index measures the change in advertised online job vacancies over time, reflecting monthly trends in employment opportunities across the US.

Overall, the index is down 8.4% from a year ago.

The Conference Board produces the index in collaboration with Lightcast (formerly Emsi Burning Glass), a labor market data and analysis provider. The ads are collected in real time from more than 50,000 online job domains.