Conference Board: Employment Trends Now Negative, First Time in 3 Years

Today’s Employment Trends Index fell to 107.82 in November, after having been revised downward in October with its adjusted reading of 107.84. What is interesting is that despite the negative trends, it is 3.3% higher than a year ago.

What the Conference Board is suggesting is that employment growth over the next several months is likely to slow again. With the debate raging over the coming fiscal cliff and with U.S. data looking like very anemic growth, this is not good news for the real labor force. The driving force behind the drop in November was a large negative contribution from initial claims for unemployment insurance.

The full report can be accessed here, with a breakdown of each of the eight components.

JON C. OGG