Employment figures fell 0.8 percent in September to 108.4, a 10 percent decline from where they were one year ago, according to the latest Conference Board Employment Trends Index from The Conference Board, which is predicting the trend in job losses to continue well into the first quarter of 2009.

“The deterioration in the Employment Trends Index has become very pronounced, suggesting that the unemployment rate may very well exceed 7 percent as early as the second quarter of 2009,” said Gad Levanon, senior economist at The Conference Board. “The persistent slackening in labor market conditions, worsened by the financial crisis, has reached a level that in the past led to significantly slower wage growth across most industries,” Levanon said.