Conference Board News Release (05/05/14)
The Conference Board Employment Trends Index increased in April. The index now stands at 118.00, up from 117.77 (an upward revision) in March. This represents a 5.5% gain in the ETI compared with a year ago.
“April’s increase in the Employment Trends Index, and continued improvement in recent months, is signaling solid job growth through the summer,” says Gad Levanon, director of macroeconomic research at the Conference Board. “Despite the disappointing [gross domestic product] figure for the first quarter, job growth remains robust and when coupled with the massive retirement of Baby Boomers will result in a continued rapid decline in the unemployment rate.”
April’s increase in the ETI was driven by positive contributions from five of its eight components. In order from the largest positive contributor to the smallest, these were percentage of firms with positions not able to fill right now, number of temporary employees, industrial production, job openings, and initial claims for unemployment insurance.