The Conference Board’s US employment trends index rose in December to a reading of 129.33 from November’s reading of 128.27, which was revised slightly downward. The December reading is up 2.6% from the same month a year ago.  

“The employment trends Index rebounded sharply in December, nearly erasing November’s entire decline,” said Gad Levanon, managing director of macroeconomic and labor market research at The Conference Board. “However, the slowdown in the [economic trends index] growth rate in recent months, combined with weak GDP growth in the fourth quarter, suggests that the pace of job growth is likely to slow in the coming months.”

December’s increase in the economic trends index was driven by positive contributions from seven of the eight components, with temporary employees the largest positive contributor.

The US Department of Labor on Friday reported the US added 292,000 jobs in December, included 34,400 temp jobs.