Factory Orders Up on More Durable Goods, Transportation Sales
58 minutes in the past
Factory orders rose 1.4% in February, bouncing again after falling almost 4% in January, in line with Census Bureau knowledge. Economists had been anticipating extra modest progress of 1% within the report.
Durable items orders and transportation gear orders rose for the primary time in two months, serving to push new orders for manufactured items to $576.8 billion in February. The report confirmed complete shipments additionally reversed a two-month dropping streak to ship 1.4% progress within the quarter.
The better-than-expected manufacturing facility order knowledge comes after different indicators confirmed U.S. manufacturing might be on the upswing, together with an Institute of Supply Management (ISM) manufacturing index studying that confirmed growth within the sector.
-Terry Lane
Job Openings Stayed Plentiful In February
1 hr 10 min in the past
The labor market churned slightly bit quicker in February, because the variety of job openings elevated—and so did the quantity of people that stop their jobs or had been laid off.
The variety of job openings rose to eight.8 million in February from a downwardly revised 8.7 million in January, the Bureau of Labor Statistics stated Tuesday, matching forecasters’ expectations. That meant for each unemployed employee, there have been 1.4 job openings, the identical as in January and nicely above the pre-pandemic stage of 1.2 openings per jobless employee.
More individuals left their jobs, whether or not voluntarily or not, with the variety of quits edging as much as 3.5 million from 3.4 million in January, and layoffs rising to 1.7 million from 1.6 million, hitting its highest stage since March 2023 though nonetheless low by historic requirements. Higher quitting recommended staff obtained slightly extra bargaining energy since individuals sometimes stop their jobs for higher pay and dealing circumstances at one other position.
Overall, the adjustments had been comparatively modest, with little sign that the dynamic within the labor market has modified a lot. The job market has stayed wholesome for staff regardless of the Federal Reserve’s anti-inflation rate of interest hikes, which have fought inflation and weighed on the economic system by pushing up borrowing prices on all types of loans.
