Key Economic Indicators – July 6, 2015

  • Total non-farm payroll employment rose 223 thousand in June, compared with an average monthly gain of 250 thousand over the prior 12 months.
  • The unemployment rate decreased to 5.3% in June, from 5.5% in May.
  • The average workweek of all employees on private nonfarm payrolls was unchanged at 34.5 hours. Average hourly earnings held steady at $24.01.  Over the past 12 months, average hourly earnings were up 2.0%.
  • The advance figure for initial claims for unemployment insurance increased 10 thousand to 281 thousand in the week ending June 27th. The 4-week moving average was 274.75 thousand, an increase of a thousand from the previous week’s average.
  • Sales of domestic cars decreased 0.4% in June, while total light vehicle (cars and light trucks) sales decreased 0.3%. Total vehicle sales were 17.1 million units in June, at a seasonally adjusted annual rate, compared to 16.8 million in June of last year.
  • New orders for manufactured goods decreased 1.0% in May, while shipments decreased 0.1%. Year-to-date, new orders were down 6.1% from the same period a year ago, while shipments were down 3.8%.
  • Construction spending in May was up 0.5% from the previous month, and was up 8.2% from May 2014. Private construction increased 0.9% in May, while public construction increased 0.7%.
  • The S & P/Case-Shiller National U.S. Home Price Index posted annual increases of 4.6% and 4.9% in the 12 months ending in April, for the 10-city and 20-city composite indices, respectively. As of April 2015, both composite indexes were back to their autumn 2004 levels, and were about 14-16% below their June/July 2006 peaks.
  • The Pending Home Sales Index, a leading indicator for the housing sector, increased 0.9% to a reading of 112.6 in May, its highest level since April 2006, according to the National Association of Realtors. The index was up 10.4% from May 2014.
  • The results of Freddie Mac’s Primary Mortgage Market Survey of July 2nd showed average fixed mortgage rates reaching new 2015 highs. 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 4.08% for the week ending July2, up from last week when it averaged 4.02%. A year ago at this time, the 30-year fixed rate mortgage averaged 4.12%.
  • Mortgage applications decreased 4.7% from a week earlier, according to data from Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) Weekly Applications Survey for the week ending June 26th.
  • The Institute for Supply Management’s (ISM) manufacturing survey indicated that the manufacturing sector expanded in June for the 30th consecutive month, and the overall economy grew for the 73rd consecutive month.
  • The Conference Board’s consumer confidence index, which had improved moderately in May, increased further in June.

Comments are closed.