U.S. Employment Trends Index Dropped in September, Conference Board Says

By Dean Seal

A reading of the U.S. labor market from The Conference Board slid in September as jobseekers became more downbeat and small firms pulled back hiring, a gauge of employment showed.

The Employment Trends Index, or ETI, pulled back to 107.56, from a downwardly revised 108.08 in August.

The decline sees the index partially reversing gains from July and August, though the index remains a solid 1% above it level from a year ago, suggesting moderate payroll employment growth ahead, according to Conrad Qi, an economic data scientist associate at The Conference Board.

The index is a forward-looking measure for payrolls, and when it decreases, employment is on track to decrease as well. Four of the index's eight components contributed positively to the index in September, while the other four were a drag.

The biggest negative contributions to the index in September came from consumer and small firm measures. A bigger share of consumers reported that jobs are hard to get, and the share of small firms reporting positions they couldn't immediately fill decreased. The share of owners hiring or trying to hire fell as well.

"Weaker perceptions of job availability and reduced small-business recruitment suggest a more difficult environment for jobseekers," Qi said.

There was an increase in the ratio of involuntarily part-time workers to the total number of part-time workers, and employment in temporary help services decreased, even as total employment jumped.

These drawdowns were partially offset by fewer initial claims for unemployment insurance during the month, as well as an increase in job openings, industrial production, and real manufacturing and trade sales.

Write to Dean Seal at dean.seal@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

October 05, 2026 10:39 ET (14:39 GMT)