The Conference Board employment trends index edged down to a reading of 109.38 in January from its reading of 109.47 in December. The January reading is up 2.7 percent from the same month a year ago.

“Despite the dip in January, the employment trends index continues to signal a moderate improvement in the labor market,” said Gad Levanon, director of macroeconomic research at The Conference Board. “However, employment growth has outpaced economic growth in recent months, and the ETI suggests that this rapid pace of improvement in hiring may not continue in the coming months.”