U.S. Economic News

April 15, 2021

U.S. Economic Indicators

Initial jobless claims decreased 193,000 to 576,000. The four-week moving average decreased 47,250 to 683,000. DOL Report

Retail sales rose 9.8% in March and were up 27.7% compared to last year. Core sales — which exclude autos, gasoline, building materials, and food services — increased 6.9% from the prior month. Census Bureau Report

The Empire State Manufacturing Survey indicates that business activity expanded in April as the headline index rose 9.0 points to 26.3. The new orders index increased 17.8 points to 26.9, the index for number of employees improved 4.5 points to 13.9, and the shipments index rose 3.9 points to 25.0. NY Fed Report

Business inventories increased 0.5% in February but were still down 0.5% from February of last year. Manufacturers’ sales fell 2.0% and were down 0.5% compared to a year ago. Census Bureau Report

Industrial production increased 1.4% in March and is up 1.0% year-over-year (down 3.4% from its pre-pandemic level). Capacity utilization rose 1.0 percentage point to 74.4%. Fed Report