The Conference Board’s employment trends index rose to 100.9 in February from a downwardly revised 100.3 in February, originally reported as 101.7, and is up 8% from a year ago, the group announced Monday.
“The employment trends index started signaling acceleration in employment growth late last year, which we are now experiencing,” said Gad Levanon, associate director of macroeconomic research at the board. “In the last six months, employment, excluding construction and state and local government, has been growing faster than almost any other six-month period in the past decade.
“We do not expect a turnaround in those sectors, which are still lagging, nor do we forecast acceleration in overall economic growth in the next several quarters,” he added. “As a result, employment growth is likely to continue growing at its current rate and not improve further for the rest of 2011.”
