Output accelerated in August 2018 according to data from the Institute for Supply Management. Manufacturing’s reading increased to 61.3 from an already hot 58.1. Likewise, services jumped to 58.5 from 55.7. Remember, readings above 50 for these indicators are acceptable, so America’s economy appears to be moving along swimmingly.
With more complete data collected, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) revised their second quarter of 2018 report on Productivity and Unit Labor Costs. However, the revisions were minor. Productivity remained at 2.9 percent from April through June, up from 0.4 percent in the first three months of the year, and is the largest quarterly gain since the first quarter of 2015 (3.1 perc
Americans’ income and spending improved in July 2018 according to the latest data from the Bureau of Economic Analysis. Their most recent release for Personal Income and Outlays show pay rising 0.3 percent in the period. More importantly, after-tax pay rose 0.3 percent and consumption increased 0.4 percent.
After poring over more complete data, the Bureau of Economic Analysis made a slight adjustment to their initial estimate of gross domestic product (GDP) in the second quarter of 2018. Initially reported as +4.1 percent on an annualized inflation-adjusted basis, they now believe output grew 4.2 percent. This revised tally will get one more adjustment in a final revision due out later
National output growth moderated in July 2018 according to the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago’s National Activity Index. This comprehensive indicator managed to hold above zero, reaching 0.13 to start the third quarter.
Orders for goods expected to last longer than three years declined according to the Census Bureau. After June’s downwardly revised uptick of 0.7 percent (originally 1.0 percent), July’s figure fell 1.7 percent. This is the third headline decline in the past four months.