A business research firm released a report today of government and independent labor market studies that show the fastest decline in employment measures since 1974, CNNMoney reported.

The Conference Board said its January employment trends index fell 1 percent since December and 18.6 percent since January 2008, which makes it the fastest decline the United States has experienced in 35 years.

“Such declines suggest considerable job losses will persist for several more months,” said Gad Levanon, senior economist at the Conference Board. “It is becoming clearer that the continued worsening economic conditions are forcing many companies to make further downward adjustments to their work force.”

The index, which has fallen for 18 consecutive months, is an aggregate of eight measures of employment, including several government labor indicators and independent employer surveys, the Conference Board said.

On Friday, the Labor Department announced employers cut 598,000 jobs in January – the highest monthly job loss since 1974.