The Conference Board Employment Trends Index Increased Sharply in February
March 13, 2018 | The Conference BoardEstimated reading time: 1 minute
The Conference Board Employment Trends Index (ETI) sharply increased in February, after increasing in January. The index now stands at 107.74, up from 106.50 (a downward revision) in January. The change represents a 5.6% gain in the ETI compared to a year ago.
“The Employment Trends Index accelerated further in February, suggesting that strong job growth is likely to continue in the coming months,” said Gad Levanon, Chief Economist, North America, at The Conference Board. “The six-month growth rate of the index is the highest since 2014. The stable unemployment rate in recent months is a statistical illusion. The labor market is tightening and with such strong job growth, further declines in the unemployment rate is all but guaranteed.”
February’s increase in the ETI was fueled by positive contributions from six out of the eight components. From the largest positive contributor to the smallest, these were: Percentage of Respondents Who Say They Find “Jobs Hard to Get,” Industrial Production, Initial Claims for Unemployment Insurance, Real Manufacturing and Trade Sales, Number of Employees Hired by the Temporary-Help Industry, and Job Openings.
The Employment Trends Index aggregates eight labor-market indicators, each of which has proven accurate in its own area. Aggregating individual indicators into a composite index filters out “noise” to show underlying trends more clearly.
About The Conference Board
The Conference Board is a global, independent business membership and research association working in the public interest. Our mission is unique: To provide the world's leading organizations with the practical knowledge they need to improve their performance and better serve society. Winner of the Consensus Economics 2016 Forecast Accuracy Award (U.S.), The Conference Board is a non-advocacy, not-for-profit entity holding 501 (c) (3) tax-exempt status in the United States. For more information, click here.
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