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NEW YORK, June 26 (Reuters) - The number of help-wanted ads
in U.S. newspapers fell 1 point in May and is 10 points down
from its mark a year ago, a private research group said on
Thursday.

The Conference Board said its gauge measuring help-wanted
ad volume slipped to 17 in May from 18 in April. The index was
27 a year earlier.

"There's no sign that improvement is just around the
corner," Ken Goldstein, labor economist at the Conference
Board, said in a statement.

"The number of jobs fell in each of the first five months
of the year, he said. "A prolonged period of slow economic
growth and small employment declines is feeding a sense of
frustration. Little wonder why consumer expectations are at an
all-time low. Expect more of the same right through the summer
and fall months."

Help-wanted ads have declined in all nine U.S. regions
tracked in the last three months, with the steepest drop in the
West North Central. The ads in that region tumbled 25.9
percent.

The research firm surveys help-wanted ad volume in 51
newspapers across the United States each month.

The Conference Board said on April 4 that it will no longer
publish this index because print advertising is no longer
representative of changes in labor market demand, though it
will still produce the index for research purposes.
(Reporting by Rodrigo Campos; Editing by Jonathan Oatis)