Key Economic Indicators – September 5, 2016

  • Personal income increased 0.4% in July, and personal consumption expenditures increased 0.3%. The price index for personal consumption expenditures held steady in July, while the core index increased 0.1%.  The price index (headline index) was up 0.8% from July 2015, while the core index was up 1.6%.
  • Total non-farm payroll employment rose 151 thousand in August, following an increase of 275 thousand in the previous month, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
  • The unemployment rate was unchanged at 4.9%.
  • The average workweek of all employees on private nonfarm payrolls decreased by 0.1 to 34.3 hours. Average hourly earnings increased by 0.1%.
  • Second quarter productivity decreased 0.6% (seasonally adjusted annual rate) in the non-farm business sector, following a 0.5% decrease in the previous quarter, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Unit labor costs increased 4.3% in the second quarter, following a 2.0% increase in the previous quarter.
  • The advance figure for initial claims for unemployment insurance was 263 thousand in the week ending August 27, an increase of 2 thousand from the previous week’s level. The 4-week moving average was 263 thousand, a decrease of a thousand from the previous week’s average.
  • Mortgage applications increased 2.8% from a week earlier, according to data from Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) Weekly Applications Survey for the week ending August 26.

Comments are closed.