Employment Trends Index Declines in August

Washington, DC, Sept. 6, 2011 -- A gauge of job opportunities in the U.S. fell in August for the fourth time in five months, according to the Conference Board.

The Employment Trends Index decreased 0.3% to 100.8 from the prior month’s revised reading of 101.0, the research group said.

However, the index was up 4.1% from August 2010.

“The decline in the index is still not as strong as it was in the months leading to previous recessions,” Gad Levanon, associate director of macroeconomic research at the Conference Board, said in a press release.

“We still expect the economy to moderately add jobs in the next several months, but not fast enough to lower the unemployment rate.”