The Conference Board's index measuring job ads in U.S. newspapers fell two points in August and now stands at 23. The measure was 29 in August 2006. Help-wanted advertising fell in all nine U.S. regions in the past three months. The largest declines occurred in the New England (-25.4%), South Atlantic (-18.4%), and Middle Atlantic (-16.9%) regions.

"The slump in home buying and building, higher gas prices and grocery prices, and credit availability questions have combined to weaken the overall economy, drain consumer confidence, and slow the labor market," said Ken Goldstein, labor economist at The Conference Board.