text: Help-wanted ad index fell in July . NEW YORK 1996-08-29 The help-wanted advertising index fell in July , the Conference Board said Thursday , reflecting the uneven nature of the nation 's labour markets . The monthly index fell to 83.0 in July against a reading of 85.0 in June , the private business research group said . In July , the volume of help-wanted advertising fell in five of the nine U.S. regions . " The labour market has been expanding throughout 1996 , but in a very uneven pattern , " Conference Board economist Ken Goldstein said . " Recent want-ad figures indicate that conservative hiring plans are keeping job growth below the rate of overall economic activity . " With 2.5 percent gross domestic product growth expected for 1996 , new job growth should slowly lower the unemployment rate over the rest of the year . " With the unemployment rate staying close to about 5.5 percent over the last two years , there is a good chance the rate will slowly drop to about 5.0 percent by the end of the year , " Goldstein said . The July index matched the reading for July , 1995 . The greatest declines in the volume of help-wanted advertising were in the New England , Mountain and West South Central regions . The greatest increase was in the East North Central region .