NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug. 30, 2002--The New York Times Job Market Confidence Index dropped 10 points in August to 100.0 from 110.0 in July. The Confidence Index measures the perceptions of employers and job seekers in the greater New York metropolitan area.

August's Current Conditions measure of the Index, which looks at respondents' perceptions of the current state of the job market, dropped to 120.1 from 130.7 in July. The Expectations measure of the Index, which considers respondents' expectations concerning the future of the job market in six months, dropped to 95.6 in August from 104.5 in July. For these results, February served as the base month, with values equal to 100.0.

"Confidence in the New York employment sector is soft and reflects overall economic uncertainty," said Carl Haacke, economist for The New York Times Job Market.

Key findings for August include:

• Employer's expectations of whether they would be hiring someone in the next six months dropped from 62.1% in July to

• 53.2% in August.

• Job openings declined slightly, with 62% of employers saying they had no vacancies in August compared to 58.3% in July.

• The share of employers who say that there were "very few jobs available" in the New York area rose to 36.5% in August from

• 33.8% in July.

• Job seekers also think there are currently "very few jobs" in the New York area, with 49.5% saying this in August compared to 41.1% in July.

• Job seekers' outlook for the future declined, with 29.6% of job seekers saying that there would be "fewer jobs available" in six months, an increase from 20.7% saying this in July.

For the August results, 500 employers and 324 job seekers were interviewed. Interviews are conducted via telephone with random samples of job seekers and hiring managers in the New York metropolitan area. The survey results for each month include responses obtained over the previous two-month period.

About Job Market

The New York Times Job Market is the leading print and online career destination in the New York metropolitan area for employers and job seekers seeking comprehensive resources to streamline the job recruitment process. Job Market appears in The New York Times every Sunday and is accessible all week at NYTimes.com, where job seekers can find career-related Times articles, exhaustive company research, a resume database and valuable career resources.

Each week, The New York Times Job Market issues research on industry trends and workplace practices affecting employers and job seekers in the metropolitan New York region. On a monthly basis, The New York Times Job Market releases the findings of its Confidence Index that track the future outlook for job recruitment in the metro New York area over the coming six-month period. Copies of Job Market research reports are available upon request at NYTimes.com/jobmarket. New York-based Beta Research Corporation, via random telephone interviews, independently conducts The New York Times Job Market research.

About The New York Times Company

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.

This press release can be downloaded from www.nytco.com and www.nytco.com/community

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