The Conference Board employment trends index increased in January for the fourth consecutive month. The index now stands at 100.5, up from December's revised figure of 100.3. The index is up 7 percent from a year ago.

"Despite anemic job gains in January, the employment trends index suggests that employment growth is poised to accelerate," said Gad Levanon, associate director, macroeconomic research at The Conference Board. "Both 'hard' economic data as well as confidence measurers have improved, and since employment growth typically lags, we expect larger numbers of jobs to be added back into the economy in the coming months."

This month's index numbers are based on revised data.