Report: Retailers added more jobs in January

Washington, D.C. -- A report released Monday by The Conference Board said that retail employers expanded their work forces in January.



The Conference Board’s Employment Trends Index increased 0.2% to 100.5, the highest level in two years. The measure rose 7% from a year earlier.



“Employment growth is poised to accelerate,” Gad Levanon, associate director of macroeconomic research at the Conference Board, said. “Economic data as well as confidence measures have improved, and since employment growth typically lags, we expect larger numbers of jobs to be added back into the economy in coming months.”



The Employment Trends Index aggregates eight labor-market indicators to forecast short-term hiring trends. On average, the gauge can signal a rebound in hiring as little as three months before the fact and can predict job declines six to nine months in advance, the Conference Board said.