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Among
the key US economic indicators this week: ISM services index rose to 59;
productivity grew a healthy 3% annual rate in Q4; consumer credit surged
4.5% to a record $2.4 trillion in 2006; initial jobless claims increased
3,000 last week; and January retails chain store sales jumped a strong
3.7%
Nonfarm
payroll employment rose by 111,000 in January, after 206,000 jobs were
created in December, and the unemployment rate was edged up to 4.6% from
4.5% in December 2006, according to the U.S. Department of Labor.
Continue reading... "Fewer New Jobs Added in January; Unemployment Rate Rises to 4.6%" »
In
January, U.S. employers announced plans to
reduce payrolls by 62,975 jobs, up 15% from 54,643 in December, - on cost
cutting; downturn in demand; and the closing of facilities - according
to monthly downsizing data released by Challenger, Gray &
Christmas, Inc.
Total
existing-home sales declined 0.8% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate1 of
6.22 million units in December from 6.27 million in November, according
to the National Association of Realtors. Sales were down 7.9% in last year
from 6.75 million-unit pace in December 2005.
U.S. and European productivity growth was relatively slow in 2006, U.S. productivity grew just 1.4% in 2006
while the EU increased at at1.5%, according to preliminary estimates by
The Conference Board. U.S. labor productivity growth in 2006 was the
lowest in more than a decade.
Continue reading... "2006 U.S. Labor Productivity Growth at the Lowest in More than a Decade" »
Continue reading... "US Economy Adds 167,000 Jobs in December; Payrolls Rose 1.8 million in 2006" »
Here
is a quick summary of the key U.S. economic indicators released today: ISM
Services Index slows; Factory Orders increased; Pending Home Sales eased;
December retail sales rose 3.1%; Auto Sales decline; Challenger layoff
report; and Monsters Online Employment report.
Planned
job cuts in U.S. declined 22% in 2006 to 839,822, about 232,000
fewer than the 1,072,054 cuts in 2005, according to the job-cut report
by Challenger, Gray & Christmas, Inc., the global outplacement
consultancy. It was the first time since 2000 that annual job-cut
announcements came in under 1,000,000.
U.S.
GDP growth slowed to a 2% pace in the third quarter, a slight downgrade
from the 2.2% annual rate estimated a month ago for Q3, according to final
estimates released
by the Commerce Department. The price index for gross domestic purchases
increased 2.2 percent in the third quarter.
Continue reading... "Key Economic Indicators for Today: GDP, Jobless Claims, Leading Indicators" »
The
U.S. Import Price Index rose 0.2 percent in November, according
to the U.S. Department of Labor data released today. The increase was led
by a 0.7 percent advance in nonpetroleum prices, which more than offset a
decline in the price index for petroleum. Excluding all fuels, import
prices rose a modest 0.1 percent.
