Conference Board News Release (10/05/15)

The Conference Board Employment Trends Index increased slightly in September. The index now stands at 128.76, up from a downwardly revised 128.66 in August. The change represents a 4.6% gain in the ETI compared with a year ago.

“While Friday’s job report was a disappointment, and the trend in job growth is probably slower than in the last couple of years, the [ETI] does not suggest a negative shock will impact the labor market any time soon,” says Gad Levanon, managing director of macroeconomic and labor market research at the Conference Board. “Slower job growth is more in line with the mediocre [gross domestic product] growth of recent years, and also suggests that the very low productivity growth during that time is not sustainable.”