The Kansas City Fed Labor Market Conditions Indicators (LMCI) suggest both the level of activity and momentum declined in February. The level of activity declined by 0.13, from 0.63 to 0.50. The momentum indicator decreased by 0.45, from 0.18 to -0.27, returning momentum to negative territory after three months of being in positive territory.
The first column of the table below shows the labor market variables that made the largest contributions to the 0.13 decline in the activity indicator this month. Overall, five variables made a positive contribution to the change in the activity indicator, four variables made no contribution, and 15 variables made a negative contribution. The largest positive contributor to the change in the level of activity was the percent of firms with positions not able to fill right now from the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) survey. In February, 38 percent of firms had job openings that they could not fill, up from 35 percent the preceding two months. The largest negative contributor to the change in the level of activity was flows from unemployment to employment (the job-finding rate). In February, 25.4 percent of workers who were previously unemployed found a job, retracing last month’s increase and returning to levels seen in December.
The KC Fed LMCI suggests the level of activity declined and momentum decelerated in February
The level of activity declined by 0.13, from 0.63 to 0.50. The momentum indicator decreased by 0.45, from 0.18 to -0.27, returning momentum to negative territory after three months of being in positive territory.