Monday, February 08, 2016

Labor Market Conditions Index: January 2016


Today, the Federal Reserve released their latest read on Labor Market Conditions showing that conditions worsened in January with the index falling to 0.4 from December's reading of 2.3.

The Labor Market Conditions Index (LMCI) is a recent innovation by the Fed, conveniently incorporating the latest dynamics of 19 different labor market indicators into one simple series which has become a favorite economic measure for many labor market watchers, including the current Fed Chair Janet Yellen.

The chart above displays the LMCI alongside the monthly change to the Labor Department's Total Nonfarm Payrolls series (a constituent of the LMCI).