GLOBAL ECONOMIC REPORTER

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%.

The latest data on U.S. housing market suggest that prices are stablizing after sharp decreases in 2008 and the first quarter of 2009. The S&P/Case-Schiller Home Price Index was 140.05 in May for the largest 20 metropolitan areas in the U.S. (composite-20), a decrease of 0.16% from the previous month after seasonal adjustment. The unadjusted index showed slight increase from the previous month. This stands in sharp contrast to the average monthly decline of 1.09% since June of 2006, when the composite-20 index started to decrease, and even sharper contrast to the average monthly decline of 1.72% since the recession was officially underway in January 2008.

The U.S. Census Bureau and the Department of Housing and Urban Development reported today that sales of new one-family houses in June were estimated to be 384,000 units, rising 11.0% from May. The sales estimate was 21.3% lower than last June’s estimate, however.

The National Association of Realtors reported that an estimate of 4.89 millioin existing homes were sold in June, a 3.6% increase from the previous month after seasonal adjustment. All regions recorded positive gains in exisiting home sales. The largest monthly percentage increase occurred in the West where existing home sales rose 6.4%. The South region registered 4.0% gain, followed by the Northeast (2.5%) and the Midwest (0.9%).

The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) reported mortgage activities increased in the week ending July 17. The Market Composite Index, a measure of mortgage loan application volume increased 2.8% after seasonal adjustment to 528.9 from 514.4 a week ago. The index increased 6.6% compared with the same week one year earlier.

The Chicago Fed National Activity Index (CFNAI) improved in June. The index is a weighted average of 85 indicators of national economic activity. The 3-month moving average of CFNAI was -2.12 in June, up 0.53 points from May reading of -2.65. While the negative readings show the U.S. economy is running below its historic trends, the index has improved steadily since January of 2009. The consistently improving readings for the past few months suggest the U.S. economy has started recovering from the current recession, which is in its 19th consecutive month.