The Conference Board’s US Employment Trends Index rose 6.9% year over year in August to a reading of 110.88, up from a downwardly revised reading of 109.58 in July. It was the largest increase in more than six years.

“The Employment Trends Index continues to accelerate, with this month’s year-over-year increase being the strongest since May 2012,” said Gad Levanon, chief economist, North America, at The Conference Board. “This supports our projections for strong economic growth in the coming year, suggesting that demand for labor is likely to remain strong. To meet this demand, employers must draw more people back into the labor force, especially in blue-collar occupations, where the labor market is increasingly tight.”

The Employment Trends Index is released on the Monday following the release of the US Bureau of Labor Statistics’ monthly employment situation report. Last Friday’s report found the number of temp help services jobs in the US rose by 2.9% year over year in August. The number of employees hired by the temporary help industry is one of the eight measures tracked in The Conference Board’s Employment Trends Index.