In a 2014 speech, Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen drew attention to one comprehensive metric that would serve as a better pulse on the state of the jobs market than the unemployment rate alone: the 19-part labor market conditions index, or LMCI.
This composite barometer draws on a host of data, including employment, underemployment, workers' wages and average workweek length, job openings, as well as hirings and firings, to produce a summary statistic showing if conditions in the labor market improved from one month to the next. And what it's showing looks to be cause for concern: The LMCI has declined for five consecutive months, falling to its lowest level since the aftermath of the financial crisis in May.
LMCI with Gaap Profits
Doh!
LMCI with S&P 500
aka. "Sumamabitch!!!"
