The Conference Board Experimental Help Wanted OnLine Index increased in December. The Index now stands at 101.7 (July 2018=100), up from 99.3 in November.

"December's increase in the HWOL Index reversed the declines in October and November," said Gad Levanon, Chief Economist, North America, at The Conference Board. "As of mid-December, the negative developments in financial markets show no signs of significantly impacting recruiting activity. Online job ads grew during 2017 and the first half of 2018 but then started to slow up through December. This supports our forecast of a moderate slowdown in 2019 GDP growth. In periods of economic slowdown, the number of job ads tends to flatten or even moderately decline. HWOL trends suggest continued recruiting difficulties, with more people joining the labor force and faster wage growth."