News release: “Online advertised job vacancies declined 507,000 to 3,861,000 in December, according to The Conference Board’s Help-Wanted Online Data Series (HWOL)™ released today. The December loss brought the monthly total of online advertised vacancies below 4 million for the first time since July 2006, two and one-half years ago. In 2008, there were on average 170,000 fewer ads each month than in 2007. “The sharp December drop in online advertised vacancies is another indication that the economy has not reached bottom,” said Gad Levanon, Senior Economist at The Conference Board. “The widespread nature of the decline in employers’ demand for workers – both across geographies and across occupations – does not bode well for an employment upturn in the first half of 2009.”