Research >> Economics
Philadelphia Fed March Outlook Suggest Continued Growth
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The region's manufacturing sector is continuing to show signs of growth, according to firms polled for this month's Business Outlook Survey. Indexes for general activity, new orders, shipments, and employment all remained positive this month. The survey's broad indicators of future activity continued to suggest that the region's manufacturing executives expect business activity to increase over the next six months.
Indicators Suggest Continued Growth
The survey's broadest measure of manufacturing conditions, the diffusion index of current activity, increased from a reading of 17.6 in February to 18.9 this month. The index has now remained positive for seven consecutive months. Although still positive and suggesting growth, indexes for current new orders and shipments fell back from their readings in February: The new orders index fell 13 points, and the shipments index fell 6 points. The current inventory index moved back into negative territory after recording its first positive reading since September 2007 last month.
Firms' responses continued to suggest that labor market conditions have been stabilizing in recent months. For the fourth consecutive month, the percentage of firms reporting an increase in employment is greater than the percentage reporting declines. The current employment index edged 1 point higher and is at its highest reading since October 2007, yet only 17 percent of the firms reported an increase in employment this month. The workweek index was 6 points higher and has now remained positive for five consecutive months.
Posted: March 18, 2010 Thursday 10:00 AM