Manufacturing activity nudged higher in the New York region, according to a survey released Monday that reinforces other datapoints showing the U.S. economy is entering a spring slowdown
The New York Fed's Empire State index fell to 3.1 points in April from 9.2 in March
That's below the MarketWatch-compiled economist forecast of 7.8, and the slowest reading since January
Two other key subcomponents fell but remained in positive territory, with the new-orders index falling to 2.2 from 8.2 in March, and the shipments index dipping to 0.8 from 7.8 in March
The Empire State survey is a diffusion index, designed so that readings above zero indicate respondents on net saw better conditions
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WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) — Manufacturing activity nudged higher in the New York region in April, according to a survey released Monday that reinforces other data points showing the U.S. economy is entering a spring slowdown.
The New York Fed’s Empire State index fell to 3.1 points in April from 9.2 in March. That’s below the MarketWatch-compiled economist forecast of 7.8, and the slowest reading since January.
Bloomberg News/Landov Enlarge Image
Pablo Leon, 29, builds a landing gear pod for an A-10 Thunderbolt II war plane at the CPI Aerostructures Inc. manufacturing facility in Edgewood, New York.
Two other key subcomponents fell but remained in positive territory, with the new-orders index falling to 2.2 from 8.2 in March, and the shipments index dipping to 0.8 from 7.8 in March.
“Over the past couple of years the Empire State index has revealed itself to be much more sensitive to fiscal issues than the national ISM report, so in the wake of the implementation of the sequester we are not surprised to see this decline,” said Ian Shepherdson of Pantheon Macroeconomic Advisors.
There were a few advancers in the report, notably on the employment side, where the number of employees rose to 6.8 from 3.2 in March, and the average employee workweek grew to 5.7 from a zero reading in March.
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The Empire State survey is a diffusion index, designed so that readings above zero indicate respondents on net saw better conditions. The Philadelphia Fed’s index is due for release Thursday. Both indexes can be erratic from month to month, and stock futures /quotes/zigman/5446647 SPM3 -0.42% didn’t move much after the Empire State release.
A number of other recent releases point to an economy that’s not growing as fast as it did at the beginning of the year.
Payrolls growth and retail sales have slowed, and national surveys of both manufacturers and services firms also point to a slower rate of growth. A home-building sentiment report released Monday also lagged expectations. Read more on builder sentiment.
In a special set of questions, respondents found difficulty finding workers with advanced computer skills. Businesses also found it more difficult to find punctual and reliable workers, with a “difficulty rating” (on a 0-to-100 range) rising to 56.5 from 54.4 in April 2012, the last time the New York Fed conducted a similar survey.
Businesses expected median wage and salary growth over the next 12 months of 2.5%. They forecast wage and salary growth of 2.6% last year and 2.8% in 2011, when on a national basis wage and salary growth fell short of 2%
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