The Kansas City Fed Labor Market Conditions Indicators (LMCI) suggest the level of activity declined modestly and momentum remained high in December. The level of activity indicator declined modestly in December from 0.51 to 0.44, while the momentum indicator decelerated from 1.68 to 1.46.
The table in the current release shows the five labor market variables that made the largest contributions to the increase in the activity indicator over the last six months and the five variables that made the largest positive contributions to the momentum indicator in December 2017. The activity indicator increased 0.07 over the last six months. The largest contribution came from an increase in the percent of firms planning to increase employment (NFIB). Fifteen variables made a positive contribution, one variable made no contribution, and eight variables made a negative contribution. The momentum indicator was 1.46 in December, where the largest contributor to momentum was initial claims. Eighteen variables made a positive contribution, and six variables made a negative contribution.