The Conference Board’s Employment Trends Index decreased in May, after five consecutive monthly gains. The index fell to a reading of 107.69 in May, down from a downwardly revised reading of 108.00 in April. However, the change still represents a 3.9% gain in the index compared with May 2017.

“The decline in the Employment Trends Index in May is probably a reversion to trend after the very rapid increases in recent months,” said Gad Levanon, chief economist, North America, at The Conference Board. “With the economy growing well above trend, we expect solid job growth to continue despite the difficulty in filling job openings.”

May’s decline in the index was fueled by negative contributions from six out of the eight components; the percentage of firms with positions they are not able to fill right now made the largest negative contribution. Real manufacturing and trade sales, and industrial production made positive contributions.