News release: “The Conference Board Employment Trends Index (ETI)™ fell further in January. The index now stands at 96.6, down 1.0 percent from the December revised figure of 97.5, and down 18.6 percent from a year ago. “The Employment Trends Index™ has recently been declining faster than at any time since the 1974 recession,” said Gad Levanon, Senior Economist at The Conference Board. “Such declines suggest considerable job losses will persist for several more months. It is becoming clearer that the continued worsening economic conditions are forcing many companies to make further downward adjustments to their workforce.” The 18-month-long decline in the Employment Trends Index™ is seen in all eight of its components, most notably over the past six months in temporary-help hires and part-time workers for economic reasons.”