News
Federal Reserve Keeps Rate Target Steady at July Meeting
As anticipated, the Federal Open Market Committee maintained its interest rate target range at 4.25%–4.50% at its July meeting. In a change to its previous statement, the FOMC noted that the growth of economic activity has moderated in the first half of the year. Unlike the June decision, which was unanimous, two FOMC members, Christopher …
Second Quarter Consumer Spending Increased, Investments Decrease
Real GDP increased at an annual rate of 3.0% in the second quarter of 2025, up from a 0.5% decline in the first quarter and above consensus expectations of slightly weaker growth. In the first half of the year, real GDP grew at an annual rate of 1.2%. The increase in GDP during the second …
International Export Demand Decreases, Firms Stay Hopeful
The S&P Global U.S. Manufacturing PMI was 49.8 in July, down considerably from the June reading of 52.9 and the first contraction after six consecutive months of growth. New orders effectively stagnated, growing at the slowest pace seen all year, with uncertainty created by tariffs leading to hesitancy in committing to new orders. Weak sales …
Global Manufacturing Activity Contracts, Export Orders Decline
In July, global manufacturing activity fell back into contraction territory, dropping from 50.4 to 49.7. Output and new orders also dropped back into contraction in July after expanding in June. New export orders continued to decline and at a faster pace than the prior month. After businesses frontloaded in advance of increased tariff rates in …
Manufacturing Hiring Rate Ticks Up in June
Job openings for manufacturing decreased by 10,000 to 415,000 in On the other hand, the May job openings level of 425,000 was revised upward from 414,000 in the previous report. Nondurable goods job openings in June rose by 26,000 to 155,000, while durable goods job openings declined by 35,000 to 261,000. The manufacturing job openings …
New Orders, New Export Orders, Imports and Employment Indexes Contract in July
In July, the U.S. manufacturing sector contracted for the fifth consecutive month and at a faster pace than the prior month, with the ISM Manufacturing® PMI decreasing to 48.0% from 49.0% in June. On the other hand, demand indicators improved in July, with the New Orders and Backlog of Orders Indexes contracting at a slower …
Employment-Population Ratio Decreases in July
Nonfarm payroll employment inched up by 73,000 in July, coming in below expectations. Meanwhile, June and May’s job gains were revised downward by a combined 258,000 to 14,000 and 19,000, respectively. The 12-month average stands at 128,000 job gains per month. The unemployment rate increased 0.1% to 4.2%, while the labor force participation rate edged …
