U.S. Economic News
September 6, 2018
U.S. Economic Indicators
The ADP Employment Report shows that private-sector employment increased by 163,000 jobs in August, below expectations of 182,000. The services sector added 139,000 jobs and the goods-producing sector added 24,000 jobs. ADP Report
Initial jobless claims fell 10,000 to 203,000 last week. The four-week moving average decreased 2,750 to 209,500. DOL Report
Nonfarm business sector labor productivity increased 2.9% in Q2 and was up 1.3% on the year. Hours worked increased 2.0% (revised) in Q2 and unit labor costs fell 1.0% (revised). BLS Report
The ISM Non-Manufacturing Index rose 2.8 percentage points to 58.5 in August. The New Orders Index increased 3.4 percentage points to 60.4 while the Employment Index inched up 0.6 percentage point to 56.7. ISM Report
New factory orders for manufactured goods fell 0.8% in July following a 0.6% (revised) increase in June, but are up 8.3% on the year. New orders excluding transportation edged up 0.2% while new orders for nondefense capital goods excluding aircraft jumped 1.6%. Census Bureau Report