Research >> Economics
New York Purchasing Managers Business Activity fell to 37.2 in May
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New York City business activity contracted at the fastest pace in seven years, according to the survey taken by the Institute for Supply Management-New York.
New York Metro
Current Business Conditions fell nearly 20 points to 37.2 in May, the weakest reading since April 2009 during the Great Recession. The Six-Month Outlook stabilized in May at 53.6 after falling to a seven-year low in April.
On the one hand, there has been a clear downshift in future optimism, as the forward-looking index remained below the 60-80 range that it traveled in for most of the current economic expansion.
On the other hand, the loss of confidence in the outlook was not large enough to indicate outright pessimism, below the breakeven 50 mark.
Company Specific
Labor contracted for the eighth time in the last nine months, while purchase volume declined by the most in seven years. Employment fell to 44.6 in May. Quantity of Purchases dropped to 37.5 in May, the weakest outturn since July 2009.
Persistent weakness in the Employment index has coincided with a rising NYC unemployment rate. The losing streak for the Employment index began in September 2015. The NYC unemployment rate reached a cycle low the next month, October 2015 (5.1%). Since then, it stopped improving and has risen to 5.4% through April 2016.
News was better for the top line and forward guidance. Current Revenues improved to a five-month high of 60.0 in May. Expected Revenues increased to a six-month high of 68.0 in May.
Cost pressures contracted for three straight months, the longest losing streak in six years. Prices Paid came in at 45.7 in May.
Posted: June 2, 2016 Thursday 08:30 AM