The Conference Board Employment Trends Index™ (ETI) decreased in August for the second time in the past four months. The index now stands at 96.7, down from July’s revised figure of 97.4. The index is up 9.4 percent from a year ago.

Employment growth has been slow lately, and the Employment Trends Index suggests that it may slow even further this fall. However, we still expect job growth rather than an outright decline in the next several months.

This month’s decline in the Employment Trends Index was driven by negative contributions from seven out of the eight components. The weakening indicators included Percentage of Respondents Who Say They Find “Jobs Hard to Get”, Initial Claims for Unemployment Insurance, Percentage of Firms With Positions Not Able to Fill Right Now, Part-Time Workers for Economic Reasons, Job Openings, Industrial Production and Real Manufacturing and Trade Sales. It is the first time since March 2009 that seven components contributed negatively to the overall index.

The Conference Board Employment Trends Index™ (ETI) increased in July for the 14th month in a row. The index now stands at 97.0, up from June’s figure of 96.7. The index is up 9.8 percent from a year ago.

The growth rate of the Employment Trends Index slowed sharply in the past three months, suggesting that employment growth will remain too weak to keep up with the increase in the working age population. The disappointing employment numbers may indicate that the low levels of household spending and confidence are making businesses more cautious when it comes to hiring.

This month’s increase in the Employment Trends Index was driven by positive contributions from six out of the eight components. The improving indicators were: Initial Claims for Unemployment Insurance, Percentage of Firms With Positions Not Able to Fill Right Now, Part-Time Workers for Economic Reasons, Job Openings, Industrial Production and Real Manufacturing and Trade Sales.

The Conference Board Employment Trends Index™ (ETI) increased again in June for the eleventh consecutive month. The index now stands at 96.7, up from May’s revised figure of 96.1. The index is up 9.8 percent from a year ago.

The weak growth in private sector employment in the last two months has been disappointing given the robust recovery in production in recent quarters. The moderate increase in the Employment Trends Index in the last two months suggests that many employers are now concerned that the recovery is losing momentum.

This month’s increase in the Employment Trends Index was driven by positive contributions from six out of the eight components. The improving indicators were: Percentage of Firms With Positions Not Able to Fill Right Now, Number of Temporary Employees, Part-Time Workers for Economic Reasons, Job Openings, Industrial Production and Real Manufacturing and Trade Sales.

The Conference Board Employment Trends Index™ (ETI) increased again in May for the ninth consecutive month. The index now stands at 95.7, up from April's revised figure of 95.2. The index is up almost 9 percent from a year ago.

The ongoing growth in the Employment Trends Index suggests that the disappointing uptick in payroll employment in May could just be a one-month blip, and that jobs will likely expand further in the next several months. However, as some of the components of the ETI have yet to signal robust gains, the pace of recovery in employment may remain moderate.

This month's increase in the Employment Trends Index was driven by positive contributions from five out of the eight components. The improving indicators were: Percentage of Respondents Who Say They Find "Jobs Hard to Get," Number of Temporary Employees, Part-Time Workers for Economic Reasons, Industrial Production and Real Manufacturing and Trade Sales.

The Conference Board Employment Trends Index™ (ETI) increased again in April for the eighth consecutive month. The index now stands at 94.7, up from March's revised figure of 93.9. The index is up 7.1 percent from a year ago.

The employment trends index continued to rise in April, but its rate of growth has slowed in recent months. Going forward, we do not expect job growth to accelerate much beyond this month's rate, as the overall increase in economic activity is likely to moderate during the second half of 2010.

This month's increase in the Employment Trends Index was driven by positive contributions from six out of the eight components. The improving indicators were: Percentage of Respondents Who Say They Find "Jobs Hard to Get," Percentage of Firms with Jobs Not Able to Fill Right Now (© NFIB Research Foundation), Number of Temporary Employees, Job Openings, Industrial Production and Real Manufacturing and Trade Sales.

The Conference Board Employment Trends Index™ (ETI) rose in March for the seventh consecutive month. The index now stands at 94.4, up from February's revised figure of 93.7. The index is up 5.5 percent from a year ago. Over the past three months, all of the index's eight components have been improving.

The solid rise in the ETI and the widespread improvement across its components suggest that the March increase in employment was not a fluke and the economy is likely to continue to add jobs in the coming months. However, we do not expect job growth to significantly accelerate in the short term, as both consumption and investment growth are likely to remain relatively weak.

This month's increase in the Employment Trends Index was driven by positive contributions from five out of the eight components. The improving indicators were: Percentage of Respondents Who Say They Find "Jobs Hard to Get," Initial Claims for Unemployment Insurance, Number of Temporary Employees, Industrial Production and Real Manufacturing and Trade Sales.

The Conference Board Employment Trends Index™ (ETI) rose in February for the sixth consecutive month. The index now stands at 93.5, up from January's 93.2. During the past six months, the index increased by 13.4 percent (annual rate), the highest six-month growth rate since 1994.

The continued rise in the ETI suggests that job growth is about to begin. The past two jobless recoveries in 1991 and 2002 were a result of a continuous decline in manufacturing employment. This time, the strong recovery in manufacturing production has already led to two consecutive monthly increases in manufacturing employment. We are likely to see this trend continue over the next several months, which will contribute to overall job growth.

This month's increase in the Employment Trends Index was driven by positive contributions from four out of the eight components. The improving indicators were: Number of Temporary Employees, Job Openings, Industrial Production, and Real Manufacturing and Trade Sales.

The Conference Board Employment Trends Index (ETI)™ rose in January for the fifth consecutive month. The index now stands at 93.2, up 1 percent from December's 92.3, but still down 0.7 percent compared to January 2009.

The continued rise in the ETI makes us more optimistic that job growth will resume in the first quarter of 2010. The improvement is widespread across all eight components. In particular, Friday's large decline in the number of involuntary part-time workers was the first time this component showed a strong signal of improvement.

January's rise in the ETI was driven by positive contributions from six of its eight components: Percentage of Respondents Who Say They Find "Jobs Hard to Get," Number of Temporary Employees, Part-Time Workers for Economic Reasons, Job Openings, Industrial Production, and Real Manufacturing and Trade Sales.