The Conference Board’s US Employment Trends Index fell in November after a sharp increase in October.

“The decline in the Employment Trends Index in November comes after one of the largest monthly increases ever last month,” said Gad Levanon, chief economist, North America, at The Conference Board. “The ETI is still on an upward trend and suggests that employment is likely to continue to grow in the months ahead. The US economy has been accelerating in recent quarters, leading to strong labor demand that is unlikely to slow down in the coming months.”

The index now stands at a level of 135.88, down from October’s revised level of 136.23. However, the index is up on a year-over-year basis in November by 4.7%.

The Employment Trends Index is based on eight labor market indicators, including:

• Initial claims for unemployment insurance (US Department of Labor)
• Percentage of firms with positions not able to fill right now (National Federation of Independent Business Research Foundation)
• Ratio of involuntarily part-time to all part-time workers (US Bureau of Labor Statistics)
• Industrial production (Federal Reserve Board)
• Real manufacturing and trade sales (US Bureau of Economic Analysis)
• Number of employees hired by the temporary-help industry (US Bureau of Labor Statistics)
• Percentage of respondents who say they find “jobs hard to get” (The Conference Board Consumer Confidence Survey)
• Job openings (US Bureau of Labor Statistics)

November’s decrease in the index was fueled by negative contributions from three out of the eight components led by percentage of firms with positions not able to fill right now, initial claims for unemployment insurance, and ratio of involuntarily part-time to all part-time workers.