The Institute for Supply Management’s Manufacturing Report On Business Survey. (Photo: REUTERS)
The Institute for Supply Management’s gauge of factory activity fell to 50.8 in April from 51.8 in March, missing economists expectations for a slight decline to 51.4. Readings above 50 point to expansion, while those below indicate contraction.
Though economic activity in the manufacturing sector expanded for the second consecutive month, it compares to 83-straight months of growth in the overall economy. The decline in the manufacturing sector since the Great Recession has contributed to stagnant wages, as the sector offers considerably higher paying jobs.
| MANUFACTURING AT A GLANCE APRIL 2016 |
||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Index | Series Index Apr |
Series Index Mar |
Percentage Point Change |
Direction | Rate of Change |
Trend* (Months) |
| PMI® | 50.8 | 51.8 | -1.0 | Growing | Slower | 2 |
| New Orders | 55.8 | 58.3 | -2.5 | Growing | Slower | 4 |
| Production | 54.2 | 55.3 | -1.1 | Growing | Slower | 4 |
| Employment | 49.2 | 48.1 | +1.1 | Contracting | Slower | 5 |
| Supplier Deliveries | 49.1 | 50.2 | -1.1 | Faster | From Slower |
1 |
| Inventories | 45.5 | 47.0 | -1.5 | Contracting | Faster | 10 |
| Customers’ Inventories | 46.0 | 49.0 | -3.0 | Too Low | Faster | 3 |
| Prices | 59.0 | 51.5 | +7.5 | Increasing | Faster | 2 |
| Backlog of Orders | 50.5 | 51.0 | -0.5 | Growing | Slower | 2 |
| Exports | 52.5 | 52.0 | +0.5 | Growing | Faster | 2 |
| Imports | 50.0 | 49.5 | +0.5 | Unchanged | From Contracting |
1 |
| OVERALL ECONOMY | Growing | Slower | 83 | |||
| Manufacturing Sector | Growing | Slower | 2 | |||
Manufacturing ISM® Report On Business® data is seasonally adjusted for New Orders, Production, Employment and Supplier Deliveries indexes.
*Number of months moving in current direction.
