| Compensation costs up 0.5 percent for civilian workers, seasonally adjusted, from March- June 2013.
Over the year, compensation rose 1.9 percent, wages and salaries 1.7 percent, and benefits 2.2 percent. See the complete report at this link: USDOL-BLS |
31 July 2013
• U.S. Employment Cost Index – Q2 2013
• U.S. Real GDP – Q2 2013
| Real gross domestic product -- the output of goods and services produced by labor and property located in the United States -- increased at an annual rate of 1.7 percent in the second quarter of 2013 (that is, from the first quarter to the second quarter), according to the "advance" estimate released by the Bureau of Economic Analysis.
In the first quarter, real GDP increased 1.1 percent (revised). See the complete report at this link: USDOC-BEA |
30 July 2013
• Consumer Confidence – July 2013
| The Conference Board Consumer Confidence Index®, which had improved in June, pulled back slightly in July. The Index now stands at 80.3 (1985=100), down from 82.1 in June.
See the complete report at this link: The Conference Board |
• Metropolitan Area Employment And Unemployment - June 2013
| Jobless rates were lower in June than a year earlier in 272 of the 372 metropolitan areas, higher in 73, and unchanged in 27. Nonfarm payroll employment was up in 282 metropolitan areas over the year, down in 79, and unchanged in 11. See the complete report at this link: USDOL-BLS |
27 July 2013
• Paid Leave by Occupation in the U.S. - March 2013
| In March 2013, about three-quarters of all workers in private industry and state and local government had access to paid holidays and paid vacations (76 percent and 74 percent, respectively), while roughly two-thirds had access to paid sick leave (65 percent).
See the complete report at this link: USDOL-BLS |
• U.S. City Average For Gasoline Was $3.63 Per Gallon In June 2013
| In June 2013, the average price of gasoline (unleaded regular) for all cities in the United States was $3.63 per gallon. Urban areas in the West region had the highest average price of gasoline at $3.86 per gallon, followed closely by the Midwest region at $3.84. See the complete report at this link: USDOL-BLS |
26 July 2013
• U.S. Consumer Sentiment – July 2013
| "U.S. consumer sentiment rose in July to the highest level in six years as Americans felt better about the current economic climate, though they expected to see a slower rate of growth in the year ahead, a survey released on Friday showed."
See the complete report at this link: Reuters.com |
25 July 2013
• More Unions Want End to Obamacare
| "The labor union mutiny against the Affordable Care Act expanded Thursday with a letter to President Obama from the head of the Laborers' International Union of North America, which represents more than 500,000 workers in construction and other industries. ”Echoing a similar appeal by three top union chiefs the previous week, union president Terry O'Sullivan wrote that ObamaCare will have 'destructive consequences' for health plans that cover millions of workers and their families. See the complete report at this link: The Wall Street Journal This posting is a bit off-topic for this blog, but some things need to be seen to be believed. |
• New Highs for U.S. State and Local Government Revenue in 2011
|
Total revenue for state and local governments reached an all-time high of $3.4 trillion in 2011, up 8.4 percent from 2010.
Individual income tax revenue increased 9.5 percent to $284.9 billion, while corporate income tax revenue increased 10.7 percent to $48.5 billion. Overall, tax revenue also reached a record high in 2011, increasing 5.3 percent to $1.3 trillion collected. See the complete report at this link: USDOC-Census |
• U.S. Durable Goods Orders – June 2013
| New orders for manufactured durable goods in June
increased $9.9 billion or 4.2 percent to $244.5 billion. This increase, up four of the last five months, followed a 5.2 percent May increase. See the complete report at this link: USDOC-Census |
• U.S. Initial Unemployment Claims Up 7k
[Jobless]
|
In the week ending July 20, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 343,000, an increase of 7,000 from the previous week's revised figure of 336,000. The 4-week moving average was 345,250, a decrease of 1,250 from the previous week's revised average of 346,500. Source: USDOL-BLS |
24 July 2013
• U.S. New Home Sales – Jume 2013
| Sales of new single-family houses in June 2013 were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 497,000.
This is 8.3 percent (±20.5%) above the revised May rate of 459,000 and is 38.1 percent (±22.0%) above the June 2012
estimate of 360,000.
The median sales price of new houses sold in June 2013 was $249,700; the average sales price was $295,000. The seasonally adjusted estimate of new houses for sale at the end of June was 161,000. This represents a supply of 3.9 months at the current sales rate. See the complete report at this link: USDOC-Census |
23 July 2013
• U.S. Business Economists Say Q2 Sales Growth Slowed
”Sales growth decelerated during the second quarter of 2013 as the net rising index (NRI)—the percentage of
panelists that reported rising unit demand minus the percentage that reported falling demand—declined to 20. The
measure had jumped to 47 the previous quarter after holding steady at 22 throughout the second half of 2012.  ”Just over a third of respondents—35%—reported rising sales at their firms, down from 55% in April and only slightly below percentages seen the three previous quarters. ”Meanwhile, 15% of panelists reported falling sales, up from 9% in the previous survey but equal to the share reported in January 2013.” See the complete report at this link: NABE |
22 July 2013
• U.S. Existing Home Sales – June 2013
| "Existing-home sales declined in June but have stayed well above year-ago levels for the past two years...
"...while the median price shows seven straight months of double-digit year-over-year increases, according to the National Association of Realtors®." See the complete report at this link: Realtor.org |
• Connecticut to Increase Minimum Wage in 2014 and 2015 – Tip Credits Adjusted
| ”Governor Dannel P. Malloy has signed legislation to increase Connecticut’s hourly minimum wage over two years by $.75 to $9.00 by January 1, 2015.
”Under the new law (Public Act No. 13-117), effective January 1, 2014, the state minimum wage will rise from $8.25 per hour to $8.70 per hour." See the complete report at this link: JacksonLewis.com |
• Connecticut Employment Situation – June 2013
| In June, nonfarm employment was little changed. Connecticut’s small monthly 500
nonfarm job gain (0.03%) marks the fourth monthly job increase in a row and the fifth monthly gain in the first six
months of 2013.
The state’s unemployment rate edged higher to 8.1% in June. The unemployment rate had held steady at 8.0% for the four prior consecutive months. Connecticut’s unemployment rate is down four-tenths of a percentage point from June 2012 (8.5%). See the complete report at this link: CTDOL |
19 July 2013
• “Homicide 'Directly Affecting' Racial Gap In U.S. Life Expectancy….”
| ”Americans are now living longer than years prior -- with a life expectancy of 78.7 years -- according to a new report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. ”But overall, African-American males continue to die younger, with heart disease and homicide shortening their lives.” See the complete report at this link: NBCNews.com |
18 July 2013
• Regional and State Employment and Unemployment – June 2013
| In June, 28 states had over-the-month unemployment rate increases, 11 states had decreases, and 11 states and the District of Columbia had no change. Nonfarm payroll employment increased in 37 states, decreased in 12 states and the district, and was unchanged in Arkansas. See the complete report at this link: USDOL-BLS |
• U.S. Leading Indicators – June 2013
| ”The Conference Board Leading Economic Index® (LEI) for the U.S. was unchanged in June, remaining at 95.3 (2004 = 100), following a 0.2 percent increase in May, and a 0.8 percent increase in April.”
See the complete report at this link: The Conference Board |
• Median Weekly Earnings of U.S. Workers – Q2 2013
| Median weekly earnings of the nation's 104.2 million full-time wage and salary workers were $776 in the second quarter of 2013 (not seasonally adjusted). This was 0.6 percent higher than a year earlier, compared with a gain of 1.4 percent in the CPI-U. See the complete report at this link: USDOL-BLS |
• U.S. Initial Unemployment Claims Down 24k
[Jobless]
| In the week ending July 13, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 334,000, a decrease of 24,000 from the previous week's revised figure of 358,000. The 4-week moving average was 346,000, a decrease of 5,250 from the previous week's revised average of 351,250. The advance seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate was 2.4 percent for the week ending July 6, an increase of 0.1 percentage point from the prior week's unrevised rate. Note: “Insured unemployment rate” refers to individuals who are unemployed and receiving UC benefits. Source: USDOL-BLS |
17 July 2013
• Employee Benefits of U.S. Employers – March 2013
| Medical care benefits were available to 85 percent of full-time private industry workers in March 2013 versus 24 percent of part-time workers. Paid sick leave was available to 74 percent of full- time and 24 percent of part-time workers. See the complete report at this link: USDOL-BLS |
• U.S. Employers’ Forecast Pay Increases - 2014
| ”Employers anticipate increasing worker salaries by an average of 2.9% in 2014, just marginally better than the 2.8% boost they gave this year, according to an annual survey of 1,500 mid-size and large U.S. employers by consulting firm Mercer.”
See the complete report at this link: Money.CNN.com |
16 July 2013
• U.S. Real Earnings June 2013
| Real average hourly earnings remained unchanged in June, seasonally adjusted. Average hourly earnings rose 0.4 percent and the CPI-U rose 0.5 percent. Real average weekly earnings fell 0.1 percent over the month. See the complete report at this link: USDOL-BLS |
• U.S. Industrial Production – June 2013
| Industrial production increased 0.3 percent in June after having been unchanged in May. For the second quarter as a whole, industrial production moved up at an annual rate of 0.6 percent. In June, manufacturing production rose 0.3 percent following an increase of 0.2 percent in May. The output at mines advanced 0.8 percent in June, while the output of utilities decreased 0.1 percent. At 99.1 percent of its 2007 average, total industrial production was 2.0 percent above its year-earlier level. The rate of capacity utilization for total industry edged up 0.1 percentage point to 77.8 percent, a rate that was 0.1 percentage point above its level of a year earlier but 2.4 percentage points below its long-run (1972–2012) average. See the complete report at this link: Federal Reserve |
• U.S. Consumer Price Index – June 2013
| The Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) increased
1.8 percent over the last 12 months to an index level of 233.504
(1982-84=100). For the month, the index increased 0.2 percent prior
to seasonal adjustment.
The Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W) increased 1.8 percent over the last 12 months to an index level of 230.002 (1982-84=100). For the month, the index increased 0.3 percent prior to seasonal adjustment. The Chained Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (C-CPI-U) increased 1.6 percent over the last 12 months. For the month, the index increased 0.2 percent on a not seasonally adjusted basis. Please note that the indexes for the post-2011 period are subject to revision. The Consumer Price Index for July 2013 is scheduled to be released on Thursday, August 15, 2013, at 8:30 a.m. (EDT). See the complete report at this link: USDOL-BLS |
15 July 2013
• U.S. Manufacturing And Trade Inventories and Sales - May 2013
| The combined value of distributive trade sales and manufacturers’
shipments for May, adjusted for seasonal and trading-day differences but not for price changes, was estimated at $1,283.5
billion, up 1.1 percent (±0.2) from April 2013, and were up 3.1 percent (±1.1) from May 2012.
See the complete report at this link: USDOC-Census |
• U.S. Retail Sales – June 2013
| U.S. retail and food services sales for June, adjusted for seasonal
variation and holiday and trading-day differences, but not for price changes, were $422.8 billion, an increase of 0.4 percent (±0.5%) from the
previous month, and 5.7 percent (±0.7%) above June 2012.
Total sales for the April through June 2013 period were up 4.6 percent (±0.5%) from the same period a year ago. See the complete report at this link: USDOC-Census |
13 July 2013
• U.S. Consumer Sentiment – July 2013
| ”Consumer confidence unexpectedly cooled in July as Americans became less optimistic about the outlook for the economy.
”The Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan preliminary index of consumer sentiment decreased to 83.9 in July from 84.1 the month prior, today’s report showed.” See the complete report at this link: Bloomberg.com |
12 July 2013
• U.S. Producer Price Index – June 2013
| The Producer Price Index for finished goods increased 0.8 percent in June, seasonally adjusted.
Prices for finished goods rose 0.5 percent in May and fell 0.7 percent in April. At the earlier stages of processing, prices received by manufacturers of intermediate goods advanced 0.5 percent in June, and the crude goods index was unchanged. On an unadjusted basis, prices for finished goods moved up 2.5 percent for the 12 months ended June 2013, the largest 12-month rise since a 2.8-percent increase in March 2012. See the complete report at this link: USDOL-BLS |
11 July 2013
• U.S. Monthly Wholesale Trade: Sales And Inventories - May 2013
| May 2013 sales of merchant wholesalers, except manufacturers’ sales branches and offices,
after adjustment for seasonal variations and trading-day differences but not for price changes, were $424.6 billion, up 1.6 percent (+/-0.5) from the
revised April level and were up 4.1 percent (+/-2.8%) from the May 2012 level. The April preliminary estimate was revised upward $1.2 billion or 0.3 percent. See the complete report at this link: USDOC-Census |
• U.S. Initial Unemployment Claims Up 16k
[Jobless]
|
In the week ending July 6, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 360,000, an increase of 16,000 from the previous week's revised figure of 344,000. During the same week a year ago claims were 363,000. The 4-week moving average was 351,750, an increase of 6,000 from the previous week's revised average of 345,750. The advance seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate was 2.3 percent for the week ending June 29, unchanged from the prior week's unrevised rate.
Note: “Insured unemployment rate” refers to individuals who are unemployed and receiving UC benefits. Source: USDOL-BLS |
09 July 2013
• U.S. Job Openings, Hires – May 2013
| There were 3.8 million job openings on the last business day of May, little changed from April. The hires rate (3.3 percent) and the separations rate (3.2 percent) also were little changed in May. See the complete report at this link: USDOL-BLS |
• U.S. Consumer Credit – May 2013
| Consumer credit increased at an annual rate of 8-1/4 percent in May.
Revolving credit increased at an annual rate of 9-1/4 percent, while nonrevolving credit increased at an annual rate of 8 percent. See the complete report at this link: Federal Reserve |
08 July 2013
• “Connecticut's Gas Tax Jumps to Nearly 50 Cents”
| ”With the new gas taxes this week Connecticut will raise an extra $60 million at the pumps this year. But little of that money will go toward improving the state's highway infrastructure…. Instead, the state will continue to siphon the revenues for other spending.
“’Connecticut has been systematically underinvesting in its transportation infrastructure, and this has been going on for years and years and years,’ University of Connecticut economist Fred V. Carstensen told the Mirror.” See the complete commentary at this link: Monroe.Patch.com |
07 July 2013
• Op-Ed Column from New London’s The Day
| ”…Governor Malloy quickly visited a Windsor tobacco farm damaged by the tornado and made such farms eligible to share in the $5 million in emergency financial grants his administration had already established for farms hurt financially by the spring's heavy rain.
”But a few weeks earlier…the governor did all he could to put the state's firearms industry out of business, even as the Centers for Disease Control still reports that tobacco use in the United States causes more deaths each year than alcohol and illegal drugs, traffic accidents, suicides, and murders combined. "Go figure." See the complete column at this link: TheDay.com |
06 July 2013
• U.S. Employment Situation – June 2013
| Total nonfarm payroll employment increased by 195,000 in June, and the
unemployment rate was unchanged at 7.6 percent, the U.S. Bureau of
Labor Statistics reported today.
Employment rose in leisure and hospitality, professional and business services, retail trade, health care, and financial activities. See the complete report at this link: USDOL-BLS |
03 July 2013
• “Administration Delays Key Obamacare Insurance Mandate”
| ”The Obama administration announced Tuesday that it is delaying a major provision in the health care overhaul, putting off until 2015 a requirement that many employers offer health insurance.
”The announcement was made late Tuesday by the Treasury Department, at the beginning of the holiday week while Congress was on recess. It comes amid reports that the administration is running into roadblocks as it prepares to implement ObamaCare. ”The change in the employer mandate is arguably the most significant concession the administration has made to date. ”Sen. John Barrasso, R-Wyo., a critic of the law, seized on the delay as a ‘clear admission’ that the law is ‘unaffordable, unworkable and unpopular.’ "’It's also a cynical political ploy to delay the coming train wreck associated with ObamaCare until after the 2014 elections,’ he said….” See the complete report at this link: FoxNews.com |
• U.S. Initial Unemployment Claims Down 5k
[Jobless]
| In the week ending June 29, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 343,000, a decrease of 5,000 from the previous week's revised figure of 348,000 and down 8.3% from the same week a year ago. The 4-week moving average was 345,500, a decrease of 750 from the previous week's revised average of 346,250.
The advance seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate was 2.3 percent for the week ending June 22, unchanged from the prior week's unrevised rate. The highest insured unemployment rates in the week ending June 22 were in Puerto Rico (4.9), Alaska (4.2), New Mexico (3.2), Connecticut (3.1), New Jersey (3.1), Pennsylvania (3.1), California (3.0), Nevada (2.8), Oregon (2.7), and Virgin Islands (2.7). The largest increases in initial claims for the week ending June 22 were in California (+6,181), New Jersey (+4,952), Oregon (+2,076), New York (+1,882), and Massachusetts (+732), while the largest decreases were in Pennsylvania (-4,238), Florida (-2,050), North Carolina (-2,009), Ohio (-1,679), and Kentucky (-1,466).
Note: “Insured unemployment rate” refers to individuals who are unemployed and receiving UC benefits. Source: USDOL-BLS |
• U.S. Balance of Trade – May 2013
| Total May exports of $187.1 billion and imports of $232.1 billion resulted in a goods and services deficit of $45.0 billion, up from $40.1 billion in April, revised.
May exports were $0.5 billion less than April exports of $187.6 billion. May imports were $4.4 billion more than April imports of $227.7 billion. Read the full article at this link: USDOC-BEA |
02 July 2013
• U.S. Manufacturers’ Shipments, Inventories and Orders – May 2013
| New orders for manufactured goods in May, up three
of the last four months, increased $9.9 billion or 2.1
percent to $485.0 billion.
This followed a 1.3 percent April increase. Excluding transportation, new orders increased 0.6 percent. Read the full article at this link: USDOC-Census |
• U.S. Metropolitan Area Employment and Unemployment -- May 2013
| Unemployment rates were lower in May than a year earlier in 253 of the 372 metropolitan
areas, higher in 86 areas, and unchanged in 33 areas. Twenty-seven areas had jobless rates of at least 10.0 percent, and 37
areas had rates of less than 5.0 percent.
Two hundred seventy-seven metropolitan areas had over-the-year increases in nonfarm payroll employment, 86 had decreases, and 9 had no change. The national unemployment rate in May was 7.3 percent, not seasonally adjusted, down from 7.9 percent a year earlier. Read the full article at this link: USDOL-BLS |
01 July 2013
• U.S. Construction Spending – May 2013
| Construction spending during May 2013 was estimated at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $874.9 billion, 0.5 percent (±1.6%) above the revised April estimate of $870.3 billion. The May figure is 5.4 percent (±2.1%) above the May 2012 estimate of $830.4 billion.
During the first 5 months of this year, construction spending amounted to $326.2 billion, 6.2 percent (±1.5%) above the $307.0 billion for the same period in 2012. Read the full article at this link: USDOC-Census |
• Purchasing Managers’ Manufacturing Report – June 2013
| “Manufacturing expanded in June as the PMI™ registered 50.9 percent, an increase of 1.9 percentage points when compared to May's reading of 49 percent. June's reading of 50.9 percent reflects the resumption of growth in the manufacturing sector for 2013, following the only month of contraction for the year in May. ”A reading above 50 percent indicates that the manufacturing economy is generally expanding; below 50 percent indicates that it is generally contracting.” Read the full article at this link: Institute for Supply Management |
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