By Paulo Trevisani
An index measuring U.S. employment trends slipped in March, signaling that job creation may lose some steam this month.
The Conference Board's Employment Trends Index declined slightly to 105.72 in March from an upwardly revised 105.84 in February, the private-research group said Monday.
Labor markets remain challenging for people looking for a job, said Mitchell Barnes, an economist at The Conference Board. He said that, despite resilience in the U.S. economy, "rising geopolitical uncertainty may contribute to ongoing employer hesitancy to add more workers."
The Employment Trends Index is a leading composite index for employment which aggregates eight indicators. When the index increases, employment is likely to increase as well, while turning points in the index suggest a change in the number of jobs is likely to occur in the short term.
March's decrease in the gauge was a result of negative contributions from five of its components.
The share of consumers who report "jobs are hard to get" climbed to 21.5% in March, up five percentage points from a year earlier.
The share of involuntary part-time workers rose in March to 16.5%, but the measure was down from 19.4% in December.
Initial claims for unemployment insurance declined to 207,800 in March, down from the 2025 average of 226,450, The Conference Board said.
The indicator was published after the U.S. Labor Department reported Friday that U.S. employers created 178,000 jobs in March, reverting February's 133,000 negative figure.
Write to Paulo Trevisani at paulo.trevisani@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
04-06-26 1041ET
