Key Economic Indicators – August 10, 2015

  • Total non-farm payroll employment rose 215 thousand in July, following an increase of 231 thousand in the previous month.   Private-sector payrolls increased by 210 thousand in the month, while government employment increased by 5 thousand.
  • The unemployment rate was unchanged at 5.3%.
  • The average workweek of all employees on private nonfarm payrolls increased 0.1 to 36.4 hours.
  • Average hourly earnings of all employees on private nonfarm payrolls increased by 5 cents to $24.99.  Over the past 12 months, average hourly earnings were up 2.1%.
  • The advance figure for initial claims for unemployment insurance increased 3 thousand to 270 thousand in the week ending August 1st. The 4-week moving average was 268.25 thousand, a decrease of 6.5 thousand from the previous week’s average of 274.75 thousand.
  • Personal income increased 0.4%, in June, while personal consumption expenditures increased 0.2%. The price index (headline index) for personal consumption expenditures increased 0.2% in June, while the core index increased 0.1%. The price index (headline index) for personal consumption expenditures was up 0.3% from June 2014, while the core index was up 1.3%.
  • New orders for manufactured goods increased 1.8% in June, while shipments increased 0.5%. Year-to-date orders manufacturing orders were down 5.9% from a year ago, while shipments were down 3.6%.
  • Sales of domestic cars increased 6.0% in July, while total light vehicle (cars and light trucks) sales increased 3.0%. Total vehicle sales were 17.5 million units in July, at a seasonally adjusted annual rate, compared to 16.4 million in July of 2014.
  • In June, international trade deficit was $43.8 billion, $2.9 billion more than the revised May figure. The cumulative deficit for the first half of 2015 was $255.7 billion, compared with the deficit of $254.1 billion for the first half of 2014.
  • May consumer credit outstanding increased at an annual rate of 8.3%. Revolving credits increased at an annual rate of 9.3%, while non-revolving credits increased 7.9%.
  • Construction spending in June was up 0.1% from the previous month, and was up 12.0% from June 2014. Private construction decreased 0.5% in June, while public construction increased 1.6%.
  • The results of Freddie Mac’s Primary Mortgage Market Survey of August 6th showed average fixed mortgage rates moving down for the third week in a row. 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 3.91% for the week ending August 6th, down from last week when it averaged 3.98%. A year ago at this time, the 30-year fixed rate averaged 4.14%.
  • Mortgage applications increased 4.7% from a week earlier, according to data from Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) Weekly Applications Survey for the week ending July 31st.
  • The Institute for Supply Management’s (ISM) manufacturing survey indicated that the manufacturing sector expanded in July for the 31st consecutive month, and the overall economy grew for the 74th consecutive month.
  • In July, the Institute for Supply Management’s (ISM) non-manufacturing survey results indicated growth for the 66th consecutive month.

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