NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 2, 2002--The New York Times Job Market, the print and online recruitment services offering of The New York Times advertising department, announced today the launch of the Job Market Confidence Index.

The Index is an aggregate measure of the perceptions of the current and future conditions of the job market among employers and those actively seeking employment. The Index will be released monthly.

The Index shows a noticeable improvement in the confidence that employers and job seekers in the greater New York metropolitan area have in the job market. The Index rose to 110.4 in March from 100.0 in February. During the same period, the Current Conditions measure of the Index rose to 124.8 from 100.0, while the Expectations measure of the Index rose to 106.2 from 100.0. For these results, February served as the base month, with values equal to 100.0.

The Confidence Index consists of six questions answered by employers and job seekers. The Current Conditions measure consists of three questions about the current state of the job market. The Expectations measure consists of three questions about the expected condition of the job market in six months.

This is the latest in a series of reports issued by the Job Market research team based on ongoing original research on trends and practices in employment in the greater New York metropolitan area.

Other key findings include:

• Employers are more optimistic than job seekers in the current market, with 34% of employers saying there are "very few" jobs in the New York area right now, compared to 49% of job seekers who say the same thing.

• Similarly, 12% of employers say there will be "fewer jobs" in six months, compared to 21% of job seekers.

• Forty-two percent of employers report having job openings in March, compared to 33% in February.

• In March, almost half (49%) of employers say they hired one or more people in the last month, compared to 42% in February.

• About 10% of employers say they laid off an employee in the last month.

• In March, 66% of employers say they expect to hire new employees over the next six months, compared to 57% who said that in February.

• Almost all employers (96%) say they do not expect to lay off any employees during the next six months.

• About two-thirds (66%) of employers report that they have approximately the right number of people to handle their current workload, while one-quarter (25%) say they have too few people to handle the current workload. Seven percent say they have too many people for the current workload.

• On average, job seekers have been looking for a job for 4.6 months. Approximately 51% of them have had one or more job offers since they started looking for a job, compared to 46% the previous month.

For the March results, 504 employers and 404 job seekers were interviewed. For the February results, 507 employers and 408 job seekers were interviewed. Interviews were conducted via telephone with random samples of job seekers and employers in the greater New York metropolitan area. The survey results for each month include responses from those surveyed over the previous two-month period.

More detailed results of this research, designed and executed by The New York Times advertising department, will be posted regularly on the Job Market page at NYTimes.com. Please e-mail any questions or comments to jobmarketresearch@nytimes.com.

The New York Times Job Market provides employers with a convenient way to reach the best talent and the broadest audience in the New York area with a single integrated advertising buy. Employers are now able to view their job listings in both the newspaper and in a searchable database online at NYTimes.com/jobmarket. The Job Market section online also includes career-related Times articles, exhaustive research on companies, a resume database and other tools designed to make the job recruitment process easier for both employers and job seekers.

The New York Times Company (NYSE: NYT), a leading media company with 2001 revenues of $3.0 billion, publishes The New York Times, The Boston Globe and 16 other newspapers; owns eight network-affiliated television stations and two New York radio stations; and has more than 40 Web sites, including NYTimes.com and Boston.com. In 2002 the Company was ranked No. 1 in the publishing industry in Fortune's list of America's Most Admired Companies. Among all 530 companies on the list, the Company ranked No. 1 in quality of products/services and No. 1 in social responsibility. The Company's core purpose is to enhance society by creating, collecting and distributing high-quality news, information and entertainment.

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