The Kansas City Fed Labor Market Conditions Indicators (LMCI) suggest the level of activity was little changed, and momentum decelerated moderately in August. The level of activity was little changed in August at 0.53, still above its historical average though lower than its pre-pandemic level. Meanwhile, the momentum indicator decreased by 0.12, from -0.03 to -0.15, remaining near its historical average.
The first column of the table below shows the five labor market variables that made the largest contributions to the 0.009 increase in the activity indicator this month. Overall, 10 variables made a positive contribution to the change in the activity indicator, four variables made no contribution, and 10 variables made a positive contribution. The largest contributor to the increase in the level of activity was flows from unemployment to employment (the job-finding rate). In August, 27.0 percent of workers who were previously unemployed found a job, up from 25.7 percent a month ago. Despite the recent uptick, this rate has been gradually declining since the second half of 2022, suggesting that as the labor market comes into better balance, job-finding opportunities are narrowing.