Employment Trends Index Becoming More Positive

New York, NY, May 11, 2009--While the U.S. job market weakened at a slower pace in April, workforce growth is unlikely to resume this year, the Conference Board said on Monday.

The private research group said its Employment Trends Index fell to 89.5 in April from 90.1 in March.

The index is down 22 percent from a year ago and has now fallen for 21 consecutive months, the Conference Board added.

"The outlook for employment is much less negative than in prior months, but still it is not likely that employment growth will resume before the final quarter of the year," said Gad Levanon, senior economist at The Conference Board.

"In April, the Employment Trends Index recorded its smallest decline since June 2008, and three of its eight components actually showed an improvement."