The Conference Board Employment Trends Index™ (ETI) decreased in April to 107.57, from a downwardly revised 108.41 in March. The Employment Trends Index is a leading composite index for payroll employment. When the Index increases, employment is likely to grow as well, and vice versa. Turning points in the Index indicate that a change in the trend of job gains or losses is about to occur in the coming months.
„The ETI fell in April to its lowest level since October, reflecting growing economic uncertainty,“ said Mitchell Barnes, Economist at The Conference Board. „While labor market indicators for the private sector largely remained stable in April, consumers and businesses are beginning to anticipate the impact of tariffs and import declines that could materialize over the next month.“
The share of consumers who report ‚jobs are hard to get’—an ETI component from the Consumer Confidence Survey®—rose for the third consecutive month in April to 16.6%, the highest share since October. The shift in consumers‘ labor market outlook is part of a broader decline in confidence, that saw the Consumer Expectations Index fall in April to its lowest level since October 2011. The share of small firms that report jobs are ’not able to be filled right now‘ (an ETI component) fell by 6 percentage points to 34%, the lowest mark since September.
