U.S. Economic News
May 3, 2018
U.S. Economic Indicators
The ISM Non-Manufacturing Index decreased 2.0 percentage points to 56.8 in April. The New Orders Index inched up 0.5 percentage point to 60.0 while the Employment Index fell 3.0 percentage points to 53.6. ISM Report
New factory orders for manufactured goods rose 1.6% in March following a 1.6% (revised) increase in February, and are up 7.7% on the year. New orders excluding transportation edged up 0.3% while new orders for nondefense capital goods excluding aircraft fell 0.4%. Census Bureau Report
The U.S. trade deficit decreased from $57.7 billion in February (revised) to $49.0 billion in March. The goods deficit fell $7.5 billion while the services surplus rose $1.3 billion. Census Bureau Report
Nonfarm business sector labor productivity increased 0.7% in Q1 and was up 1.3% on the year. Hours worked increased 2.1% in Q1 and unit labor costs rose 2.7%. BLS Report
Initial jobless claims rose 2,000 to 211,000 last week. The four-week moving average decreased 7,750 to 221,500. DOL Report