It not unusual for employment to decline in both the manufacturing and the service sector in January and then expand in February. In February 2017, employment will grow at 57.0 percent of manufacturing firms and decline at 8.1 percent. The resulting net increasing index of 48.9 (57.0 percent - 8.1 percent) suggests slightly faster employment growth in manufacturing than in February 2016 (47.5).

In February 2017, employment levels will grow at 43.8 percent of service-sector firms and decline at 15.5 percent of firms, producing a net increasing index of 28.3 (43.8 percent - 15.5 percent), which suggests slower service-sector employment growth than in February 2016 (36.9). The service sector is, however, 10 times larger than the manufacturing sector and, even with a slower growth rate, will account for most of the jobs added to the U.S. economy in February 2017.

The LINE employment expectations index provides an early indication of the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) Employment Situation report findings. BLS numbers covering the same time period are released approximately one month after the LINE report.