Economy in Brief: January 2016

Nonfarm payrolls increased by a firm 292,000 during December following upwardly revised gains in the prior two months. Expectations had been for a 194,000 rise in the Action Economic Forecast Survey. The gain was powered by strength [...]

Nonfarm payrolls increased by a firm 292,000 during December following upwardly revised gains in the prior two months. Expectations had been for a 194,000 rise in the Action Economic Forecast Survey. The gain was powered by strength [...]

The outplacement firm of Challenger, Gray & Christmas reported that job cut announcements during December fell to 23,622 (-27.6% y/y) following the prior month's decline to 30,953. The latest was the lowest since 2000. Layoffs fell in [...]

Initial claims for unemployment insurance rose to 277,000 (-7.8%y/y) in the week ended January 2 from an unrevised 287,000 the previous week. Consensus expectations in the Action Economics Forecast Survey looked for 275,000 [...]

New orders in the manufacturing sector fell 0.2% during November (-3.5% y/y) following a 1.3% October increase, revised from 1.5%. The decline compared to expectations for a 0.1% increase in the Action Economics Forecast Survey. The [...]

The Composite Index of Nonmanufacturing Sector Business, from the Institute for Supply Management (ISM), declined to 55.3 last month and added to an unrevised November decline to 55.9. It was the lowest level since April 2014. [...]

The ADP/Moody's National Employment Report indicated that nonfarm private sector payrolls rose 257,000 during December following a 211,000 November increase, revised from 217,000. The latest increase was firmer than expectations for a [...]

The U.S. foreign trade deficit narrowed to $42.4 billion in November from a revised $44.6 billion in October (initially -$43.9 billion). The Action Economics Forecast Survey had anticipated a deficit of $44.2 billion. However, the [...]