Job market stronger, KC Fed report says

More evidence of a better job market came from the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City Wednesday.

The Kansas City Fed’s measure of labor conditions showed improved activity and high momentum. Its economists look at various factors such as first-time claims for unemployment benefits, hourly earnings and announced job cuts.

An activity index generated from the data edged closer to a positive number, standing at -0.184 in May compared with -0.258 in April, in its long recovery from below -2.00 during the Great Recession.

A similar momentum index rose to 0.99 in May from 0.86 in April. At the depth of the economic downturn, the momentum index had fallen below -4.00.

Evidence of a stronger job markets will be a key factor in discussions next week at the Federal Reserve in Washington, D.C. Policymakers are looking for the moment to start raising interest rates, which have been held to historically low levels since late 2008.

Analysts generally expect the Fed to delay a rate hike until its September policy meeting or later.

The Kansas City Fed’s report follows news last week that the economy created 280,000 jobs last month, though unemployment climbed slightly to 5.5 percent from 5.4 percent in April, largely because more out of work Americans reentered the job market.

This story was originally published June 10, 2015 at 6:05 AM with the headline "Job market stronger, KC Fed report says."