A new report from The Conference Board indicates that poor economic conditions will continue well into 2009, resulting in payroll cuts and workforce reductions.
According to The Conference Board, their Employment Trends Index takes 8 economic indicators and aggregates them into a composite index “to show underlying trends more clearly.” The latest release of the index reflected a continued steep decline in the index, now running 15 consecutive months—a drop in October 2008 of 1.8 percent from September, and down 12 percent from a year ago.
“The sharp decline in the Employment Trends Index in recent months suggests we will experience even greater deterioration in the labor market in the months ahead, and that the unemployment rate will continue to rise sharply well into 2009,” Gad Levanon, Senior Economist at The Conference Board, said in a press release. “The economic developments of the last two months made it clear to businesses that demand for goods and services in the U.S. is declining, and businesses are responding by aggressively slashing their payrolls. Unfortunately, it seems this environment will persist for several more quarters and business leaders will continue reducing their workforce.”
The Employment Trends Index collects data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, the U.S. Department of Labor, the National Federation of Independent Business, and the Federal Reserve Board.
For more information about the index, visit www.conference-board.org/economics/employment.cfm.
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