Ed Frank of The Wall Street Journal tells his readers that the employment trends index ticked down to 112.29, from January’s downwardly revised 113.18. He writes:
The U.S. labor market weakened a little in February, reflecting that jobs were becoming harder to come by, according to a jobs trends index.
The Conference Board’s employment trends index ticked down to 112.29 in February from a downwardly revised 113.18 in January, the private-research group said Monday, flipping two months of improvement.
“While the index is still elevated compared to its prepandemic level and the economy has continued to add jobs through February 2024, the labor market is likely to cool off, with modest job gains expected through 3Q and 4Q of 2024,” Will Baltrus, associate economist at The Conference Board, said. […]
Where there were payroll gains in February, they were concentrated in healthcare and social assistance, leisure and hospitality, and government, which together accounted for 73% of jobs added, Baltrus added.
Nevertheless, indications remain that the jobs market is still relatively strong. The latest data adds to Labor Department figures published last week that showed the U.S. added a higher-than-expected 275,000 more jobs last month.
Read more here.