Recent Updates
- Mexico: Manufacturing Employment (Mar)
- Latvia: Labor Force Statistics (Apr)
- UK: CBI Industrial Trends Survey (May)
- Albania: HICP (Apr)
- South Africa: Wholesale Sales, Export & Import Indexes (Mar)
- more updates...
Economy in Brief
U.S. Mortgage Applications Continued to Slide Amid Higher Rates
The biggest declines have been in refinancing activity, while applications for purchase are just starting to crack...
UK Inflation Jumps
Inflation is at the highest rate since the series began in January of 1989...
U.S. Industrial Production Much Stronger than Expected in April
The increase in manufacturing output in April was once again led by motor vehicle and parts production...
U.S. Retail Sales Posted Solid Rise in April
Notwithstanding falling real incomes and declining confidence measures, consumer spending posted a solid increase...
U.S. Home Builder Index Took a Steep Drop in May
This is the fifth straight month that builder sentiment has declined...
Viewpoints
Commentaries are the opinions of the author and do not reflect the views of Haver Analytics.
Profits and Margins Plunge In Q1: Expect More Margin Contraction As Fed Squeezes Inflation
The Many Links of Inflation Cycle: Hard Landing Is Needed to Crack Them
Peak Inflation & Fed Policy: A Relationship Which Should Worry The Fed And Scare Investors
Why Have the Yields on TIPS Been Negative in the Past Two Years?
by Charles Steindel March 25, 2022
State payrolls were robust in February. 27 states saw statistically significant increases from January, led by California's 138,100 rise. Texas gained 77,800 jobs, and Florida was up 51,000. 19 other states had increases of more than 10,000. Nebraska had the largest percentage gain—1.2—while 4 other states had .8 percent increases. Over the last 12 months 48 states, plus DC, saw statistically significant increases in payroll employment. Unsurprisingly, California had the largest numerical increase (over 1 million) and Nevada the largest percentage increase (9.7).
Virtually all states saw job growth over the last 12 months. California picked up well over 1 million jobs; Nevada saw a 10.3 percent increase. Alabama, Ohio, South Dakota, and Delaware were the only states to report job growth under 2 percent
A whopping 31 states saw statistically significant drops in their unemployment rates in February; New Jersey's .5 percentage point decline was the largest. The range of unemployment rates across the nation continues to narrow. Again, DC was highest, at 6.1 percent. Among the 50 states, Nebraska and Utah continue to have the lowest rates (2.1 percent) and New Mexico the highest (5.6 percent).
Puerto Rico eked out a modest gain in payrolls in February. With a revision to January, the job count on the island is now over 900,000 for the first time since 2015. Unemployment continues to fall, with February's rate down .3 percentage points to 6.8 percent.