Research >> Economics
Empire State Manufacturing Survey Conditions Continue to Improve
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The Empire State Manufacturing Survey indicates that conditions for New York State manufacturers improved at a rapid pace in April. The general business conditions index rose 9 points, to 31.9. The new orders and shipments indexes advanced as well, and the inventories index climbed to a record high. The prices paid index moved up 12 points to 41.8, its highest level in considerably more than a year, while the prices received index held fairly steady at a level just above zero. Employment indexes rose to high levels, suggesting that employment levels are continuing to improve. Future indexes conveyed an ongoing sense of optimism about the six-month outlook.
In a series of supplementary questions, respondents were asked to assess the extent to which certain business issues posed problems for their firms, whether each of these issues was more or less of a problem now than a year ago, and whether each was expected to become more or less of a problem over the next year. Of the ten issues considered, employee benefit costs, taxes, and government regulation were generally seen as the biggest problems—both in absolute terms and compared with a year ago. Moreover, these same issues were the ones most widely expected to be still more problematic a year from now. At the other end of the spectrum, the cost and terms of credit, credit availability, and depressed real estate values were seen as the least problematic issues.
Posted: April 15, 2010 Thursday 08:30 AM