The Employment Trends Index survey jumped 0.73% in January to 105.81, according to the Conference Board, up from December’s 105.04 index.

The January result, the Board said, was up 5.9% year-over-year.

"The Employment Trends Index has been improving rapidly for four straight months, suggesting somewhat more robust job growth is likely to continue in this quarter," said Gad Levanon of the Conference Board. "Beyond that we still remain cautious. We expect sluggish growth in economic activity in the first half of 2012 and therefore we do not foresee the strengthening of the labor market to be sustained in the second quarter of 2012." 

The Employment Trends Index covers eight indicators, and aggregates those individual indicators into a composite index. The Conference Board said January’s number came from positive results in four components, including temporary jobs filled, industrial production, trade sales, and percentage of companies with unfilled job openings.