Conference Bd ETI Up 0.7% to 89.3 in Oct.

The Conference Board’s employment trends index rose 0.7% to 89.3 in October, from a revised 0.5% jump to 88.7 in September, originally reported as a 0.3% increase to 88.5, the group announced yesterday.

“The employment trends index has likely turned a corner in September, and the historical relationship between the index and employment suggests that job losses will end in early 2010,” said Gad Levanon, senior economist at board.

“While layoffs have certainly declined in recent months, we still expect to see employers adding hours to their existing workforce before hiring will strongly increase,” he said.

Half the components of the index were better in October, the board said. The improving indicators were initial claims for unemployment insurance, number of temporary employees, industrial production, and real manufacturing and trade sales.

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