Consumer sentiment rose to its highest reading since May 2024, increasing for the second consecutive month and lifting about 2% above August. The gain was led by an improvement in buying conditions for durables, driven by more favorable prices as perceived by consumers. Year-ahead expectations for personal finances and the economy both improved ...

U.S. import prices declined 0.3 percent in August following increases of 0.1 percent in July and June, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Lower fuel and nonfuel prices contributed to the August decrease. Prices for U.S. exports fell 0.7 percent in August, after advancing 0.5 percent the ...

In the week ending September 7, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 230,000, an increase of 2,000 from the previous week's revised level. The previous week's level was revised up by 1,000 from 227,000 to 228,000. The 4-week moving average was 230,750, an increase of 500 from the previous week's revised average. ...

The Producer Price Index for final demand increased 0.2 percent in August, seasonally adjusted, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Final demand prices were unchanged in July and rose 0.2 percent in June. (See table A.) On an unadjusted basis, the index for final demand advanced 1.7 percent for the 12 months ended ...

The Conference Board−Lightcast Help Wanted OnLine® (HWOL) Index rose in July 2024 to 125.7 (July 2018=100), up from an upwardly revised 125.0 in June. The 0.5 percent increase between July and June followed a 0.6 percent decrease between June and May. Overall, the Index is down 6.6 percent from one ...

The Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) increased 0.2 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis, the same increase as in July, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Over the last 12 months, the all items index increased 2.5 percent before ...

All employees

Real average hourly earnings for all employees increased 0.2 percent from July to August, seasonally adjusted, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. This result stems from an increase of 0.4 percent in average hourly earnings combined with an increase of 0.2 ...

Mortgage applications increased 1.4 percent from one week earlier, according to data from the Mortgage Bankers Association's (MBA) Weekly Applications Survey for the week ending September 6, 2024. This week's results include an adjustment for the Labor Day Holiday.The Market Composite Index, a measure of mortgage loan application volume, ...

The NFIB Small Business Optimism Index fell by 2.5 points in August to 91.2, erasing all of July’s gain. This is the 32nd consecutive month below the 50-year average of 98. The Uncertainty Index rose to 92, its highest level since October 2020. Inflation remains the top issue among small business owners, with 24% of owners reporting it as ...

In July, consumer credit increased at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 6.0 percent. Revolving credit increased at an annual rate of 9.4 percent, while nonrevolving credit increased at an annual rate of 4.8 percent.

...

Sales
July 2024 sales of merchant wholesalers, except manufacturers’ sales branches and offices, after adjustment for seasonal variations and trading day differences, but not for price changes, were $671.0 billion, up 1.1 percent (±0.4 percent) from the revised June level and were up 2.9 percent (±0.7 percent) from the revised July 2023 level. ...

The Conference Board Employment Trends Index™ (ETI) increased in August to 109.04 amid a downtrend in the index, and following July’s downwardly revised 108.71. The Employment Trends Index is a leading composite index for payroll employment. When the Index increases, employment is likely to grow as well, and vice versa. Turning points in the ...

Total nonfarm payroll employment increased by 142,000 in August, and the unemployment rate changed little at 4.2 percent, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Job gains occurred in construction and health care.

This news release presents statistics from two monthly surveys. The household survey measures labor force status, including unemployment, by demographic characteristics. The establishment survey measures nonfarm employment, hours, and earnings by industry. For more ...

Economic activity in the services sector expanded for the second consecutive month in August, say the nation's purchasing and supply executives in the latest Services ISM® Report On Business®. The Services PMI® registered 51.5 percent, indicating sector expansion in six of eight months in 2024. This month’s reading indicates sector expansion ...

Nonfarm business sector labor productivity increased 2.5 percent in the second quarter of 2024, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today, as output increased 3.5 percent and hours worked increased 1.0 percent. (All quarterly percent changes in this release are seasonally adjusted annualized rates.) From the same quarter a year ...

In the week ending August 31, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 227,000, a decrease of 5,000 from the previous week's revised level. The previous week's level was revised up by 1,000 from 231,000 to 232,000. The 4-week moving average was 230,000, a decrease of 1,750 from the previous week's revised average. The ...

Private sector employment increased by 99,000 jobs in August and annual pay was up 4.8 percent year-over-year, according to the August ADP® National Employment ReportTM produced by ADP Research in collaboration with the Stanford Digital Economy Lab (“Stanford Lab”).

“The job market's downward drift brought us to slower-than-normal hiring after two years of outsized growth,” said Nela Richardson, chief economist, ADP. “The next indicator to watch is wage growth, which is stabilizing after a dramatic post-pandemic slowdown.” ...

U.S.-based employers announced 75,891 cuts in August, a 193% increase from the 25,885 cuts announced one month prior. It is up 1% from the 75,151 cuts announced in the same month in 2023, according to a report released Thursday from global outplacement and business and executive coaching firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas, Inc.
For the ...

Overall Economic Activity

Economic activity grew slightly in three Districts, while the number of Districts that reported flat or declining activity rose from five in the prior period to nine in the current period. Employment levels were steady overall, though there were isolated reports that firms ...

The number of job openings was little changed at 7.7 million on the last business day of July, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Over the month, hires changed little at 5.5 million. Total separations increased to 5.4 million. Within separations, quits (3.3 million) and layoffs and discharges (1.8 million) changed little. ...

Summary
New orders for manufactured goods in July, up following two consecutive monthly decreases, increased $28.2 billion or 5.0 percent to $592.1 billion, the U.S. Census Bureau reported today. This followed a 3.3 percent June decrease. Shipments, up five of the last six months, increased $5.4 billion or 0.9 percent to $593.8 billion. ...

The U.S. Census Bureau and the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis announced today that the goods and services deficit was $78.8 billion in July, up $5.8 billion from $73.0 billion in June, revised.

Exports, Imports, and Balance
July exports were $266.6 billion, $1.3 billion more than June exports. July imports were $345.4 billion, $7.1 billion more than June imports.
The July increase in the goods and services deficit reflected an increase in the goods deficit of ...

Mortgage applications increased 1.6 percent from one week earlier, according to data from the Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) Weekly Applications Survey for the week ending August 30, 2024.

The Market Composite Index, a measure of mortgage loan application volume, increased 1.6 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis from one week earlier. On an unadjusted basis, the Index increased 0.2 percent compared with the previous week. The Refinance Index decreased 0.3 ...

Total Construction
Construction spending during July 2024 was estimated at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $2,162.7 billion, 0.3 percent (±1.0 percent)* below the revised June estimate of $2,169.0 billion. The July figure is 6.7 percent (±1.8 percent) above the July 2023 estimate of $2,027.4 billion. During the first seven months of ...

Economic activity in the manufacturing sector contracted in August for the fifth consecutive month and the 21st time in the last 22 months, say the nation's supply executives in the latest Manufacturing ISM® Report On Business®.

The report was issued today by Timothy R. Fiore, CPSM, C.P.M., Chair of the Institute for Supply Management® (ISM®) Manufacturing Business Survey Committee: ...

The Paychex Small Business Employment Watch for August, which reflects U.S. small businesses with fewer than 50 employees, reported hourly earnings growth for workers dropped to 2.89%. This marks the first time growth has been under three percent since January 2021. In addition, the one-month annualized hourly earnings growth dropped to 1.91%. ...

After four straight months of declines, consumer sentiment in August inched up 1.5 index points above July, according to the University of Michigan Surveys of Consumers.

The economic outlook over both the short term and long term reached their most favorable levels since April 2024, with a 10% surge in long-run economic expectations that was seen across age and income groups, said U-M economist Joanne Hsu, director of the surveys. ...

• The Chicago Business BarometerTM, produced with MNI progressed 0.8 points to 46.1 in August. The marginal move means it remains in contractionary territory for the ninth consecutive month, although is comfortably above the year-to-date average of 42.9.

• The marginal rise was due to three of the five subcomponents improving. The marginal upward movement was driven by New Orders, followed by Production and Supplier Deliveries. Whilst small reductions in Order Backlogs and Employment capped the upside move.
• In particular, ...

Personal income increased $75.1 billion (0.3 percent at a monthly rate) in July, according to estimates released today by the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis (tables 2 and 3). Disposable personal income (DPI), personal income less personal current taxes, increased $54.8 billion (0.3 percent) and personal consumption expenditures (PCE) ...

Pending home sales in July retreated 5.5%, according to the National Association of REALTORS®. All four U.S. regions posted monthly losses in transactions. Year-over-year, the Northeast rose while the Midwest, South and West registered declines.

The Pending Home Sales Index (PHSI)* – a forward-looking indicator of home sales based on contract signings – slipped to 70.2 in July, the lowest reading since the index began tracking in 2001. Year over year, pending transactions were down 8.5%. An index of 100 is equal to ...

Real gross domestic product (GDP) increased at an annual rate of 3.0 percent in the second quarter of 2024 (table 1), according to the "second" estimate released by the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis. In the first quarter, real GDP increased 1.4 percent.

The GDP estimate released today is based on more complete source data than were available for the "advance" estimate issued last month. In the advance estimate, the increase in real GDP was 2.8 percent. The update primarily reflected an upward revision to consumer spending ...

In the week ending August 24, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 231,000, a decrease of 2,000 from the previous week's revised level. The previous week's level was revised up by 1,000 from 232,000 to 233,000. The 4-week moving average was 231,500, a decrease of 4,750 from the previous week's revised average. The ...

Mortgage applications increased 0.5 percent from one week earlier, according to data from the Mortgage Bankers Association's (MBA) Weekly Applications Survey for the week ending August 23, 2024. The Market Composite Index, a measure of mortgage loan application volume, increased 0.5 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis from one week earlier. ...

Fifth District manufacturing activity slowed in August, according to the most recent survey from the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond. The composite manufacturing index edged down from −17 in July to −19 in August. Of its three component indexes, shipments rose from −21 to −15, new orders decreased from −23 to −26, and employment fell from −5 ...

The Conference Board Consumer Confidence Index® rose in August to 103.3 (1985=100), from an upwardly revised 101.9 in July. The Present Situation Index—based on consumers’ assessment of current business and labor market conditions—improved to 134.4 from 133.1 in July. The Expectations Index—based on consumers’ short-term outlook for ...

S&P Dow Jones Indices (S&P DJI) today released the June 2024 results for the S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller Indices. The leading measure of U.S. home prices reached a new all-time high with a decelerating trend for June 2024.

YEAR-OVER-YEAR ...

Texas factory activity exhibited little growth in August, according to business executives responding to the Texas Manufacturing Outlook Survey. The production index, a key measure of state manufacturing conditions, inched up three points to 1.6, with the low reading signaling only slight growth in output ...

New Orders
New orders for manufactured durable goods in July, up five of the last six months, increased $26.1 billion or 9.9 percent to $289.6 billion, the U.S. Census Bureau announced today. This followed a 6.9 percent June decrease. Excluding transportation, new orders decreased 0.2 percent. Excluding defense, new orders increased 10.4 ...

New Home Sales
Sales of new single-family houses in July 2024 were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 739,000, according to estimates released jointly today by the U.S. Census Bureau and the Department of Housing and Urban Development. This is 10.6 percent (±16.5 percent)* above the revised June rate of 668,000 and is 5.6 percent ...

Tenth District manufacturing activity declined less this month than in July, while expectations for future activity remained positive. Finished product prices increased somewhat this month after staying flat in July, but raw materials prices continue to grow at a faster ...

Existing-home sales improved in July, breaking a streak of four consecutive monthly declines, according to the National Association of REALTORS®. Three out of four major U.S. regions registered sales increases while the Midwest remained steady. Year-over-year, sales rose in the Northeast and West but retreated in the Midwest ...

The Chicago Fed National Activity Index (CFNAI) decreased to –0.34 in July from –0.09 in June. Two of the four broad categories of indicators used to construct the index decreased from June, and three categories made negative contributions in July. The index's three-month moving average, CFNAI-MA3, was unchanged at –0.06 ...

In the week ending August 17, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 232,000, an increase of
4,000 from the previous week's revised level. The previous week's level was revised up by 1,000 from 227,000 to
228,000. The 4-week moving average was 236,000, a decrease of 750 from the previous week's revised average. ...

Mortgage applications decreased 10.1 percent from one week earlier, according to data from the Mortgage Bankers Association's (MBA) Weekly Applications Survey for the week ending August 16, 2024. The Market Composite Index, a measure of mortgage loan application volume, decreased 10.1 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis from one week ...

Nonmanufacturing activity improved somewhat but remained weak, according to the firms responding to the August Nonmanufacturing Business Outlook Survey. After negative readings last month, the indexes for general activity at the firm level and sales/revenues turned positive but are below their respective long-run averages, and the new orders ...

The Conference Board Leading Economic Index® (LEI) for the U.S. fell by 0.6 percent in July 2024 to 100.4 (2016=100), following a decline of 0.2 percent in June. Over the six-month period ending in July 2024, the LEI fell by 2.1 percent, a smaller rate of decline than its −3.1 percent over the six-month period between July 2023 and ...

Consumer sentiment was essentially unchanged for the fourth consecutive month, inching up 1.4 index points. With election developments dominating headlines this month, sentiment for Democrats climbed 6% in the wake of Harris replacing Biden as the Democratic nominee for president. For Republicans, sentiment moved in the opposite direction, ...

Building Permits
Privately-owned housing units authorized by building permits in July were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,396,000. This is 4.0 percent below the revised June rate of 1,454,000 and is 7.0 percent below the July 2023 rate of 1,501,000. Single-family authorizations in July were at a rate of 938,000; this is 0.1 ...

The U.S. Department of the Treasury today released Treasury International Capital (TIC) data for June 2024. The sum total in June of all net foreign acquisitions of long-term securities, short-term U.S. securities, and banking flows was a net TIC inflow of $107.5 billion. Of this, net foreign private inflows were $81.4 billion, and net ...

A lack of affordability and buyer hesitation stemming from elevated interest rates and high home prices contributed to a decline in builder sentiment in August.

Builder confidence in the market for newly built single-family homes was 39 in August, down two points from a downwardly revised reading of 41 in July, according to the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB)/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index (HMI) released today. This ...