U.S. Economic News
September 1, 2017
U.S. Economic Indicators
The U.S. economy added 156,000 jobs in August, below consensus. The unemployment rate inched up to 4.4%, the labor force participation rate held steady at 62.9%, and average hourly earnings rose 2.5% Y/Y. BLS Report
The ISM Manufacturing Index rose 2.5 percentage points to 58.8 in August. The new orders index edged down 0.1 percentage point to 60.3 and the employment index increased 4.7 percentage points to 59.9. ISM Report
Construction spending fell 0.6% in July to an annualized rate of $1.21 trillion. Public construction declined 1.4% and private construction edged down 0.4%. Census Report
The University of Michigan Consumer Sentiment Index rose 3.4 points to 96.8 in the final August reading and is up 7.0 points on the year. The Index of Consumer Expectations jumped 7.2 points to 87.7, but the Current Economic Conditions Index fell 2.5 points to 110.9. Report
U.S. News
The Wall Street Journal reports that Treasury Secretary Mnuchin says that the Trump administration and top Congressional Republicans will release a more detailed tax plan in the coming weeks. After Congress returns from its August recess, leaders are set to meet with the administration to hash out a more comprehensive framework for making tax cuts and simplifying the tax code. WSJ