The Conference Board’s U.S. employment trends index rose to a reading of 108.11 in July from June’s revised reading of 107.68. The July figure is also up 5.9 percent from the same month a year ago.

“The Employment Trends Index increased slightly in July, but is still below the May level, and is only slightly above the February level, suggesting that slow employment growth is likely to continue in the next few months,” said Gad Levanon, director of macroeconomic research at The Conference Board. “There is no reason to expect employers to rapidly expand their workforce in the current economic environment, and the July pace of job growth (163,000) is unlikely to be sustained.”