Money & The Economy

Conference Board: Strong Job Growth to Continue

The Conference Board Employment Trends Index™ (ETI) sharply increased in February, after increasing in January. The index now stands at 107.74, up from a revised 106.50 in January. The change represents a 5.6 percent 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.

The eight labor-market indicators aggregated into the Employment Trends Index include:

  • 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)
  • Ratio of Involuntarily Part-time to All Part-time Workers (BLS)
  • Job Openings (BLS)**
  • Industrial Production (Federal Reserve Board)*
  • Real Manufacturing and Trade Sales (U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis)**

*Statistical imputation for the recent month
**Statistical imputation for two most recent months

Rich Mitchell

Rich Mitchell is the editor-in-chief of Conservative Daily News and the president of Bald Eagle Media, LLC. His posts may contain opinions that are his own and are not necessarily shared by Bald Eagle Media, CDN, staff or .. much of anyone else. Find him on twitter, facebook and GETTR

Share
Published by
Rich Mitchell

Recent Posts

Can The Democrats Be This Ignorant On ICE Safety

The Democrats have been floundering since last year when the Biden/Harris election fiasco sent them…

6 hours ago

Burning Bridges?

Elon has been on an all-out assault against Trump. Like a petulant child, he’s reacting…

6 hours ago

Trump Lifts Regs On Drones, Supersonic Flight, Opens Door For Flying Cars

President Donald Trump signed several executive orders on Friday, lifting regulations on aviation technology and…

6 hours ago

Stacey Abrams’ Nonprofit Shelled Out $20 Million To Close Friend’s Law Firm: Docs

Former Democratic gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams’ nonprofit paid more than $20 million to her close…

7 hours ago

Kash Patel Says FBI Has Recovered Anthony Fauci’s COVID-Era Communications

Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Director Kash Patel said on “The Joe Rogan Experience” Friday…

7 hours ago

California Democrats Take Another Shot At Subverting Trump’s Immigration Agenda

California Democrats are pushing through legislation that would make it incredibly more difficult for federal…

7 hours ago