Economy in Brief: 2019

The employment cost index (ECI) for civilian workers rose 0.7% in Q4 2018 following a 0.8% Q3 gain. A 0.8% rise had been expected in the Action Economics Forecast Survey. The gains combined to lift y/y compensation growth to 2.9%, the [...]

Initial claims for jobless insurance jumped unexpectedly to 253,000 in week ended January 26 from 200,000 in the week before; that earlier number was revised up by 1,000. This latest is the largest number of claims since September 30, [...]

The Chicago Purchasing Managers Business Barometer dropped to a two-year low of 56.7 in January from a downwardly-revised 63.8 in December. The Action Economics Forecast Survey expected 62.0. The Chicago Purchasing Managers figures [...]

The Federal Open Market Committee voted unanimously at today's meeting to leave the federal funds rate target in a range between 2.25% and 2.50%. The action was expected in the Action Economics Forecast Survey. The Fed indicated after [...]

The January readings for the EMU on the EU Commission indexes show ongoing weakness. The overall EU index now resides in the 72nd percentile of its historic queue of data, a reasonably firm and comfortable reading but not an [...]

The Mortgage Bankers Association reported that its total Mortgage Applications Index fell 3.0% (-6.0% y/y) during the week ended January 25, about the same as during the prior week. These declines followed sharp increases early in the [...]

ADP indicated in its National Employment Report that private nonfarm payrolls increased 213,000 during January (1.9% y/y) following a 263,000 December gain, revised from 271,000. Expectations had been for a 175,000 rise in the Action [...]

After forming a spike top in confidence in June 2017, French household confidence in the INSEE survey has been on a downswing. This month’s five-point rise in the index to 91 from a low of 86 (the weakest reading since October 2014) [...]