A leading US employment gauge rose in January for the fifth consecutive month, a research group has revealed.

The Conference Board's Employment Trends Index increased 0.9 percentage points to 93.2 in January, which is the indicator's highest reading in 12 months.

This growth coincided with a decline in the national unemployment rate, which the Labor Department disclosed last week fell to 9.7 per cent in January.

However, the index is still down 0.7 per cent from one-year ago when it stood at 93.8.

Gad Levanon, associate director of macroeconomic affairs at The Conference Board, suggested that the improvement in the jobs market is "widespread".

He said: "The continued rise in the Employment Trends Index makes us more optimistic that job growth will resume in the first quarter of 2010."

Last week, Harry Reid, Democratic Senate leader, suggested that it is the government's priority "not to stop until every American who wants a job can get a job" in 2010.