Conference Board ETI Up 0.5% to 95.7 in May

The Conference Board’s employment trends index rose 0.5% to 95.7 in May from a revised 95.2 in April, which was originally reported as 94.7.

The labor market gauge is up almost 9% from a year ago, the group said yesterday.

“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,” said Gad Levanon, associate director of macroeconomic research at the board.

“However, as some of the components of the ETI have yet to signal robust gains, the pace of recovery in employment may remain moderate,” he said.

May’s rise in the ETI, the ninth straight gain, was driven by positive contributions from five 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.

For reprint and licensing requests for this article, click here.
MORE FROM BOND BUYER