Help-Wanted Index - HWI
Categories: Econ
For a long time, newspapers were the central clearing house for those seeking gainful employment. Jobs were listed in section 3 of the newspaper when it was actually printed on fish wrap.
The HWI was closely followed by those who cared about the growth (or lack thereof) of the economy; the HWI was viewed as a kind of canary in the mineshaft reflecting growth or decline in the overall economy. The number of lines were simply added up and then compared with what that number read a week ago, a month ago, a year ago, and so on.