The Conference Board reports its Employment Trends Index rose 0.2% in January and poised for growth.
The Conference Board Employment Trends Index™ (ETI) aggregates eight labor-market indicators and although it does not get the same media attention that the Labor Department’s often misleading figures receives, in my opinion remains the most solid gauge for employment trends. The Index increased in January for the fourth consecutive month and now stands at 100.5, up from December’s revised figure of 100.3. The index is up 7 percent from a year ago.
Online advertised vacancies rose 438,000 in January to 4,273,000 according to The Conference Board Help Wanted OnLine™ (HWOL) Data Series. With the January increase, labor demand has risen 1.44 million since the series low point in April 2009. This increase now offsets approximately 80 percent of the 1.76 million drop in ad volume during the 2-year downturn period from April 2007 through April 2009. 
TransUnion released its annual forecasts on consumer credit, which indicate that national mortgage loan delinquencies (the ratio of borrowers 60 or more days past due) will drop nearly 20 percent by the end of 2011 to 4.98 percent from the expected 6.21 percent to end 2010. The projected decrease in 60-day mortgage delinquencies (a precursor to foreclosure) would more than double the 9.87 percent yearly decline that is expected by the end of 2010. This is a welcome contrast to the year-over-year increases of 54 percent between 2006 and 2007, 53 percent between 2007 and 2008 and 50 percent between 2008 and 2009.
Online advertised vacancies rose a modest 47,400 in November to 4,457,200 following an increase of 113,700 in October, according to The Conference Board Help Wanted OnLine™ (HWOL) Data Series. The nation’s Supply/Demand rate stood at 3.37 unemployed for every advertised vacancy in October (down from a peak of 4.73 in October 2009. The Conference Board Reports that there are now 10.4 million more unemployed U.S. workers than advertised vacancies.
Although the employment rate in Ohio was little changed, Ohioans got a psychological the rate fell nominally out of double digits for the first time since March of 2009. Ohio’s unemployment rate was 9.9 percent in October, down slightly from 10.0 percent in September, according to data released by the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services (ODJFS). Ohio’s nonfarm wage and salary employment increased 8,400 over the month, from the revised 5,014,500 in September to 5,022,900 in October.