U.S. Economic News
January 5, 2018
U.S. Economic Indicators
The U.S. economy added 148,000 jobs in December, below consensus. The unemployment rate held steady at 4.1%, the labor force participation rate was unchanged at 62.7%, and average hourly earnings expanded 2.5% Y/Y. BLS Report
The ISM Non-Manufacturing Index fell 1.5 percentage points to 55.9 in December. The New Orders Index dropped 4.4 percentage points to 54.3 while the Employment Index increased 1.0 percentage point to 56.3. ISM Report
The U.S. trade deficit increased from $48.9 billion in October (revised) to $50.5 billion in November. The goods deficit rose $1.7 billion and the services surplus edged up $0.1 billion. Census Bureau Report
New factory orders for manufactured goods rose 1.3% in November following a 0.4% increase in October, and are up 5.8% on the year. New orders excluding transportation increased 0.8% while new orders for nondefense capital goods excluding aircraft fell 0.2%. Census Bureau Report