Conference Board's Employment Trends Index Rose in July

A basket of U.S. employment indicators increased in July, a potential sign of strengthening job growth.

The Conference Board said its employment trends index rose to 133.77 in July from its revised June reading of 132.42. The July figure represents a 4.8% gain from last year.

The Conference Board's employment trends index combines eight market indicators, including industrial-production figures from the Federal Reserve, job openings from the Bureau of Labor Statistics and jobless claims from the U.S. Department of Labor. The index filters out volatility in data to more clearly reveal underlying trends in employment conditions.

The report follows the Labor Department's release of its July jobs report Friday, which showed the U.S. unemployment rate fell to 4.3%, down 0.1 percentage point from the prior month. The rate suggests the labor market is near full employment.

The increase suggests "solid hiring and further tightening of the labor market in the months ahead," said Gad Levanon, chief economist, North America, at the Conference Board.

All eight of the components of the index were positive in July, with the "percentage of firms with positions not able to fill right row" contributing the largest positive reading. The component flipped from June, when it posted the biggest decline in the basket.

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

August 07, 2017 11:08 ET (15:08 GMT)