“The U.S. LEI continued on its upward trend in May, suggesting the economy is likely to remain on, or perhaps even moderately above, its long-term trend of about 2 percent growth for the remainder of the year,” said Ataman Ozyildirim, Director of Business Cycles and Growth Research at The Conference Board. “The improvement was widespread among the majority of the leading indicators except for housing permits, which declined again. And, the average workweek in manufacturing has recently shown no sign of improvement.” – The Conference Board
News / Economic News
Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics
Total nonfarm payroll employment increased by 138,000 in May, and the unemployment rate was little changed at 4.3 percent, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Job gains occurred in health care and mining.
Source: Institute for Supply Management
Economic activity in the manufacturing sector expanded in May, and the overall economy grew for the 96th consecutive month, say the nation’s supply executives in the latest Manufacturing ISM® Report On Business®.
“The recent trend in the U.S. LEI, led by the positive outlook of consumers and financial markets, continues to point to a growing economy, perhaps even a cyclical pickup,” said Ataman Ozyildirim, Director of Business Cycles and Growth Research at The Conference Board. “First quarter’s weak GDP growth is likely a temporary hiccup as the economy returns to its long-term trend of about 2 percent. While the majority of leading indicators have been contributing positively in recent months, housing permits followed by average workweek in manufacturing have been the sources of weakness among the U.S. LEI components.” – The Conference Board
Source: U.S. Census Bureau
Sales The combined value of distributive trade sales and manufacturers’ shipments for March, adjusted for seasonal and trading-day differences but not for price changes, was estimated at $1,361.0 billion, virtually unchanged (±0.1 percent)* from February 2017, but was up 6.5 percent (±0.4 percent) from March 2016.
Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics
Total nonfarm payroll employment increased by 211,000 in April, and the unemployment rate was little changed at 4.4 percent, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Job gains occurred in leisure and hospitality, health care and social assistance, financial activities, and mining.
Source: Institute for Supply Management
Economic activity in the manufacturing sector expanded in April, and the overall economy grew for the 95th consecutive month, say the nation’s supply executives in the latest Manufacturing ISM® Report On Business®.
“The March increase and upward trend in the U.S. LEI point to continued economic growth in 2017, with perhaps an acceleration later in the year if consumer spending and investment pick up,” said Ataman Ozyildirim, Director of Business Cycles and Growth Research at The Conference Board. “The gains among the leading indicators were very widespread, with new orders in manufacturing and the interest rate spread more than offsetting declines in the labor market components in March.” – The Conference Board
Sales
The combined value of distributive trade sales and manufacturers’ shipments for February, adjusted for seasonal and trading-day differences but not for price changes, was estimated at $1,360.7 billion, up 0.2 percent (±0.2 percent)* from January 2017 and was up 7.1 percent (±0.4 percent) from February 2016.
Source: National Retail Federation
Imports at the nation’s major retail container ports should continue to see strong increases throughout the spring and summer as the nation’s economy improves, according to the monthly Global Port Tracker report released today by the National Retail Federation and Hackett Associates.