The Conference Board Employment Trends Index (ETI)(TM) Dips Slightly in April

Index Records Smallest Decline in Nearly a Year

NEW YORK, May 11 /PRNewswire/ -- The Conference Board Employment Trends Index
(ETI)(TM) saw a moderate decline in April. The index now stands at 89.5,
decreasing 0.7 percent from the March figure of 90.1, and down 22 percent from
a year ago.

"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."

The Employment Trends Index(TM) aggregates eight labor-market indicators, each
of which has proven accurate in its own area. Aggregating individual
indicators into a composite index filters out so-called "noise" to show
underlying trends more clearly. This month, three out of eight components of
the Employment Trends Index(TM) improved. The improving indicators were
Initial Claims for Unemployment Insurance, Part-Time Workers for Economic
Reasons and percentage of respondents who say they find "Jobs Hard to Get."

The eight labor-market indicators aggregated into the Employment Trends
Index(TM) include:
-- Percentage of respondents who say they find "Jobs Hard to Get"
(The Conference Board Consumer Confidence Survey)
-- Initial Claims for Unemployment Insurance (U.S. Department of Labor)
-- Percentage of Firms With Positions Not Able to Fill Right Now ((C)
National Federation of Independent Business Research Foundation)
-- Number of Employees Hired by the Temporary-Help Industry (U.S. Bureau
of
Labor Statistics)
-- Part-Time Workers for Economic Reasons (BLS)
-- Job Openings (BLS)
-- Industrial Production (Federal Reserve Board)
-- Real Manufacturing and Trade Sales (U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis)

The Conference Board publishes the Employment Trends Index(TM) monthly, at 10
a.m. ET on the Monday that follows each Friday release of the Bureau of Labor
Statistics employment situation report. The technical notes to this series are
available on The Conference Board website:
www.conference-board.org/economics/employment.cfm.

About The Conference Board
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www.conference-board.org.

SOURCE The Conference Board

Gad Levanon, +1-212-339-0317, Gad.levanon@conference-board.org