U.S. Economic News
June 5, 2017
U.S. Economic Indicators
The ISM Non-Manufacturing Index edged down 0.6 percentage point to 56.9 in May. The new orders index fell 5.5 percentage points to 57.7, while the employment index increased 6.4 percentage points to 57.8. ISM Report
New factory orders for manufactured goods fell 0.2% in April following a 1.0% gain in March, and are up 4.4% on the year. New orders excluding transportation and new orders for nondefense capital goods excluding aircraft both edged up 0.1%. Census Bureau Report
Nonfarm business sector labor productivity was unchanged in Q1 (revised) after rising 1.8% in Q4. In year-over-year terms, productivity rose 1.2% (revised). Hours worked increased 1.7% in Q1 (revised) and unit labor costs increased 2.2% (revised). BLS Report
U.S. News
Josh Zumbrun of the Wall Street Journal writes that past instances in which the unemployment rate was as low as it is today usually have led to serious economic crises. While Zumbrun notes that the U.S. economy does not appear to be at risk of overheating at the moment, exceptionally low unemployment may cause inflation to spike later this year. WSJ