Conference Board's Employment Trends Index Rose in August

A basket of U.S. employment indicators increased in August, suggesting solid job growth in the months ahead.

The Conference Board said its employment trends index rose to 134.62 in August from its revised July reading of 133.60. The August figure represents a 5.6% increase from a year ago.

The Conference Board's employment trends index, or ETI, 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 Friday release of its August jobs report, which showed the U.S. unemployment rate increased slightly to 4.4% and the economy continued to add jobs although the pace of growth was slower than many economists expected.

"While Friday's job numbers were slightly disappointing, the ETI does not provide any indication of slowing employment growth," said Gad Levanon, chief economist, North America, at the Conference Board.

Six of the eight components of the index were positive in August, with the percentage of respondents who say they find jobs "hard to get" contributing the largest positive reading.

Write to Cara Lombardo at cara.lombardo@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

September 05, 2017 10:50 ET (14:50 GMT)