NEW YORK -- The Conference Board Employment Trends Index (ETI) saw a moderate decline in April, dropping 0.7 percent to 89.5, and down 22 percent from a year ago.
"The outlook for employment is much less negative than in prior months, but still it is not likely that employment growth will resume before the final quarter of the year," said Gad Levanon, Senior Economist at The Conference Board. "In April, the Employment Trends Index recorded its smallest decline since June 2008, and three of its eight components actually showed an improvement."
The Employment Trends Index is based on eight labor-market indicators, including:
- Percentage of respondents who say they find "Jobs Hard to Get" (The Conference Board Consumer Confidence Survey)
- Initial Claims for Unemployment Insurance (U.S. Department of Labor)
- Percentage of Firms With Positions Not Able to Fill Right Now (National Federation of Independent Business Research Foundation)
- Number of Employees Hired by the Temporary-Help Industry (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics)
- Part-Time Workers for Economic Reasons (BLS)
- Job Openings (BLS)
- Industrial Production (Federal Reserve Board)
- Real Manufacturing and Trade Sales (U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis)
For more information, visit www.conference-board.org/economics/employment.cfm