NEW YORK -- The Conference Board Employment Trends Index (ETI) posted a moderate decline in June, falling 0.8 percent from May to 88.4. The index is down 21.6 percent from a year ago.
"Compared to the beginning of the year, the decline in the Employment Trends Index has significantly moderated, and we therefore expect job growth to resume around the end of the year," said Gad Levanon, Senior Economist at The Conference Board. "However, over the last month, leading indicators of employment were mostly disappointing, suggesting the Employment Trends Index is still seeking a bottom."
The ETI presents a mixed picture in June, as its components including the Percentage of Respondents Who Say They Find "Jobs Hard to Get," the Number of Employees in the Temporary-Help Industry, Industrial Production, Real Manufacturing and Trade Sales, and Job Openings all saw declines.
The ETI aggregates eight labor-market indicators:
- Percentage of respondents who say they find "Jobs Hard to Get" (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
