GLOBAL ECONOMIC REPORTER

The U.S. housing market cotinues to show signs of recovery from the worst downturn in decades. The drastically reduced prices have lead to increased activities for the past few weeks.

The Federal Reserve Bank of New York reported in its latest Empire State Manufacturing Survey that business conditions have improved significantly. The general business conditions index in August increased 13 points to 12.1, the highest level since November 2007. The index was -0.6 in July and -9.4 in June.

The U.S. Census Bureau and the Department of Housing and Urban Development announced that privately-owned housing starts contracted 1.0% from June. The seasonally adjusted estimate for July was 581,000 while the estimate for June was 587,000.

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that the Producer Price Index (PPI) for finished goods declined 0.9% in July after seasonal adjustment, following a 1.8% increase in June. All major categories experienced declines in prices. Index for energy goods fell by 2.4%, and prices of foods declined by 1.5%. Crude goods prices fell by 4.5% while prices of the intermediate goods decreased 0.2%.

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today that nonfarm payroll employment declined in July by 247,000 from the previous month, but the rate of decline was the smallest since August of 2008. The unemployment rate was unexpectedly lower in July by 0.1 percentage point. The July unemployment rate was 9.4% while most analysts expect a 9.6% rate. The number of unemployment persons stood at 14.5 million in July.

The U.S. Bereau of Economic Analysis released the advance estimate of the U.S. real Gross Domestic Product in the 2nd quarter. Total output of goods and services fell at an annual rate of 1.0% in the 2nd qurater after inflation adjustment. In the 1st quarter, real GDP fell 6.4%. The percent decrease in real GDP in the 2nd quarter was less than expected. Most analysts expected it to decrease by 1.5%. The seasonally-adjusted level of real GDP in the 2nd quarter stood at an annual rate of $12.9 trillion.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics released the weekly report on unemployment insurance claims. The unadjusted number of U.I. claims for the week ending July 25 decreased 13.3% to 507,464. The seasonally adjusted number increased 4.5%, however. The total number of workers claiming U.I. beneifts as of July 25 was roughly 6.1 million (not seasaonlly adjusted), a decrease of 196,289 from the previous week. The data suggest the U.S. labor market is slowly improving but the hiring rate remains low.

Summary: This report analyzes how the Central New York economy weathers the current recession.  Overall the Syracuse metro area appreaed to be quite resilient to the economic storm that has swept other parts of the nation.  Unemployment rate is up but less than the national average.  The construction, leisure & hospitality, and education & health [...]

The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today that unemployment rates were higher in June than the same time last year in all 372 metropolitan areas. 18 metro areas experienced unemployment rates greater than 15%, 8 of which were in California and 5 in Michigan. 352 metro areas recorded over-the-year declines in nonfarm employment, but 6 areas reported increases. The slumping consumer demand and the restructuring of U.S. auto industry contributed to the increases.

The U.S. Census Bureau reported today that the advance estimate of new orders for manufactured durable goods decreased $4.1 billion or 2.5% in June. The decline followed increases in the previous two months. New orders in May and April rose 1.3% and 1.4%, respectively. The decline in June was largely fueled by the transportation equipment industry, specifically the non-defense aircraft and parts industry, where new orders in June fell 2.46 billion or 38.5%.