U.S.

Factory Production Climbs by Most in a Year: Economy

January 18, 2012, 5:24 PM EST By Timothy R. Homan (Updates with closing markets in fifth paragraph.) Jan. 18 (Bloomberg) -- Factories in the U.S. churned out more computers, cars and construction material in December as manufacturing remained at the center of the expansion. Output climbed 0.9 percent last month, the biggest gain since December 2010, according to Federal Reserve data issued today in Washington. Other reports showed homebuilder confidence jumped and wholesale prices unexpectedly dropped. Gains in consumer and business spending, combined with lean inventories, may prompt factories to continue to boost payrolls and hours, bolstering economic growth. Additionally, more demand from emerging markets may help shield American industry from a slowdown in exports to Europe as the regions financial crisis and a weaker euro threaten to restrain sales. Manufacturing remains an engine of growth, said John Herrmann, a senior fixed-income strategist at State Street Global Markets LLC in Boston, who accurately forecast the December gain. Manufacturing has benefited from exports to emerging markets. The more resilient those economies are, the better it is for U.S. manufacturing. Stocks rose, giving the Standard & Poors 500 Index its best start to a year since 1987, as semiconductor and homebuilders gained. The S&P 500 climbed 1.1 percent to 1,308.04 at the close in New York. Its up 4 percent this year. The World Bank cut its forecast for global growth to 2.5 percent for this year from a June projection of 3.6 percent, the biggest reduction in its estimates in three years. The Washingtonbased institution said a recession in the euro region threatened to exacerbate a slowdown in other parts of the world. Unemployment in U.K. U.K. unemployment in the three months ended in November rose to the highest level since January 1996, deepening concerns Britain is heading for recession, figures today showed. The unemployment rate based on International Labour Organization methods rose to 8.4 percent from 8.1 percent in the three months through August, the Office for National Statistics said in London.
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Meantime, China reported today that foreign direct investment declined in December by the most since July 2009. Total industrial production in the U.S., which includes factories, mines and utilities, climbed 0.4 percent in December, the Feds report showed. A warmer December than usual led to a 2.7 percent plunge in utility use, the biggest drop since October 2010. The median forecast of 80 economists surveyed by Bloomberg News forecast a 0.5 percent rise in total output. Estimates ranged from no change to a 0.8 percent increase. Manufacturing accounts for about 12 percent of the U.S. economy. Builder Confidence Confidence among U.S. homebuilders rose in January to the highest level in more than four years as sales and buyer traffic improved, according to a report from the National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo. The sentiment gauge increased to 25 this month, exceeding the median forecast of economists surveyed and reaching the highest level since June 2007, the Washington-based group said. Readings lower than 50 mean more respondents still said conditions were poor. Record-low borrowing costs, a growing population and reduced prices may drive demand for homes this year even as another round of foreclosures threatens to weigh on the market. The confidence measure, which increased for a fourth straight month, improved in all four regions of the country. Builders are seeing greater interest among potential buyers as employment and consumer confidence slowly improve in a growing number of markets, NAHB Chief Economist David Crowe said in a statement. Wholesale Prices Another report showed the producer-price index decreased 0.1 percent after a 0.3 percent gain the previous month, according to the Labor Department in Washington. The Feds production report showed output of motor vehicles and parts advanced 0.6 percent. Manufacturing excluding autos and parts climbed 0.4 percent following a 0.2 percent November decrease. Production of business equipment increased 0.8 percent after no change in November, boosted by more output of computers and machinery. Assembly lines turned out 1 percent more construction materials, the most in five months, showing how the improvement in housing is rippling through the economy.

Todays figures are in line with the Institute for Supply Managements national index of manufacturing, which rose last month. The barometers measures of production and orders climbed to the highest levels since April. Europe Poses Risks Manufacturing still faces risks, particularly from the European debt crisis, of a slowdown in demand for U.S. exports. Last year proved to be a challenging environment, most notably with the difficulties in the European region, Roger Wood, president and chief executive officer at Dana Holding Corp., said Jan. 10 at an auto industry conference in Detroit. Looking forward, we continue to foresee a mixed global outlook. We expect slow growth in North America and much better growth in both Asia and South America. We believe that Europe will continue to lag. The Maumee, Ohio-based maker of truck axles and frames, said in a statement that adjusted profit this year will be $1.95 to $2.05 a share. The average estimate of 12 analysts surveyed by Bloomberg was $1.88. Europes slowdown has already started to limit U.S. exports, which dropped to a four-month low in November, according to Commerce Department figures released last week. Manufacturers added 23,000 jobs in December, the most in five months, Labor Department figures showed on Jan. 6. Hours by non-supervisory factory workers climbed to 41.5 in December, matching the highest since May 2010 and a sign manufacturers may keeping adding to payrolls. --With assistance from Alex Kowalski, Shobhana Chandra and Chris Middleton in Washington. Editors: Vince Golle, Carlos Torres To contact the reporter on this story: Timothy R. Homan in Washington at thoman1@bloomberg.net

Current Unemployment Rates for States and Historical Highs/Lows

Current Unemployment Rates for States and Historical Highs/Lows Seasonally Adjusted Nov. 2011p State Alabama Alaska Arizona Arkansas California Colorado Connecticut Delaware District of Columbia Florida Georgia Hawaii Idaho Illinois Indiana Iowa Kansas Kentucky Louisiana Maine Maryland Massachusetts Michigan Minnesota Mississippi Missouri Montana Rate 8.7 7.3 8.7 8.0 11.3 8.0 8.4 7.6 10.6 10.0 9.9 6.5 8.5 10.0 9.0 5.7 6.5 9.4 6.9 7.0 6.9 7.0 9.8 5.9 10.5 8.2 7.1 Historical High Date Dec. 1982 June 1986 Jan. 1983 July 1983 Dec. 2010 Feb. 2011 Jan. 1976 Dec. 1976 Feb. 1983 Dec. 2010 Dec. 2010 Jan. 1976 Mar. 2011 Feb. 1983 Jan. 1983 Mar. 1983 Aug. 2009 Jan. 1983 Nov. 1986 Jan. 1977 Nov. 1982 Jan. 1976 Dec. 1982 Dec. 1982 Apr. 1983 Feb. 1983 Mar. 1983 Rate 14.3 11.5 11.6 10.1 12.5 9.3 9.4 9.3 11.6 12.0 10.4 9.9 9.7 12.9 12.7 8.6 7.6 12.0 12.8 9.0 8.4 11.1 16.8 9.1 13.5 10.6 8.8 Historical Low Date June 2007 Apr. 2007 July 2007 Nov. 2000 Jan. 2001 Jan. 2001 Oct. 2000 Feb. 1989 May 1989 Aug. 2006 Dec. 2000 Dec. 2006 May 2007 Feb. 1999 Apr. 1999 Oct. 1999 Apr. 1979 June 2000 Sept. 2007 Jan. 2001 Feb. 2000 Oct. 2000 Mar. 2000 Mar. 1999 Apr. 2001 Jan. 2000 Mar. 2007 Rate 3.3 5.9 3.6 4.0 4.7 2.6 2.1 2.8 4.8 3.3 3.3 2.3 2.7 4.2 2.6 2.5 3.0 4.1 3.6 3.1 3.4 2.6 3.3 2.5 4.9 2.8 3.1

Nebraska Nevada New Hampshire New Jersey New Mexico New York North Carolina North Dakota Ohio Oklahoma Oregon Pennsylvania Rhode Island South Carolina South Dakota Tennessee Texas Utah Vermont Virginia Washington West Virginia Wisconsin Wyoming

4.1 13.0 5.2 9.1 6.5 8.0 10.0 3.4 8.5 6.1 9.1 7.9 10.5 9.9 4.3 9.1 8.1 6.4 5.3 6.2 8.7 7.9 7.3 5.8

Feb. 1983 Dec. 2010 Sept. 1992 Dec. 1976 Mar. 1983 Nov. 1976 Feb. 2010 Feb. 1983 Jan. 1983 June 1983 Jan. 1983 Mar. 1983 Mar. 2010 Dec. 2009 Feb. 1983 Jan. 1983 Nov. 1986 Mar. 1983 Jan. 1976 Jan. 1983 Nov. 1982 Mar. 1983 Jan. 1983 Jan. 1987

6.7 14.9 7.6 10.7 10.0 10.3 11.4 6.8 13.9 9.2 12.1 12.9 11.8 11.8 6.0 12.8 9.3 10.0 8.8 7.8 12.2 18.1 11.5 9.1

Feb. 1998 Apr. 2000 May 1987 July 2000 Nov. 2007 Apr. 1988 Mar. 1999 July 2001 Jan. 2001 Dec. 2000 Feb. 1995 Mar. 2000 July 1988 Mar. 1998 Mar. 2000 May 2000 Jan. 2001 Apr. 2007 Apr. 2000 Dec. 2000 May 2007 Apr. 2008 Feb. 2000 Apr. 1979

2.2 3.8 2.1 3.6 3.4 4.0 3.1 2.6 3.8 2.8 4.7 4.0 2.9 3.2 2.5 3.9 4.2 2.4 2.4 2.2 4.5 3.9 3.0 2.3

Note: Data series begin in January 1976.

Employment by major industry sector

This table also can be found in the article, "Industry Output and Employment Projections to 2018," published in the November 2009 Monthly Labor Review. Other available formats: [PDF] [XLS] Table 2.1 Employment by major industry sector, 1998, 2008, projected 2018 Average Percent Thousands of jobs Change annual rate distribution Industry sector of change 19981998- 20081998 2008 2018 2008-18 1998 2008 2018 2008 2008 18 140,563.9150,931.7166,205.610,367.8 15,273.9100.0 100.0 100.0 0.7 1.0 Total (1) Nonagriculture wage and salary 126,624.7137,814.8152,443.511,190.1 14,628.790.1 91.3 91.7 0.9 1.0 (2) Goods-producing, 24,273.6 21,363.1 21,390.4 -2,910.5 27.3 17.3 14.2 12.9 -1.3 0.0 excluding agriculture 564.7 717.0 613.2 152.3 -103.8 0.4 0.5 0.4 2.4 -1.6 Mining 6,149.4 7,214.9 8,552.0 1,065.5 1,337.1 4.4 4.8 5.1 1.6 1.7 Construction Manufacturing 17,559.5 13,431.2 12,225.2 -4,128.3 -1,206.0 12.5 8.9 7.4 -2.6 -0.9 Services102,351.1116,451.7131,053.114,100.6 14,601.472.8 77.2 78.8 1.3 1.2 providing 613.4 559.5 500.5 -53.9 -59.0 0.4 0.4 0.3 -0.9 -1.1 Utilities Wholesale trade 5,795.2 5,963.9 6,219.8 168.7 255.9 4.1 4.0 3.7 0.3 0.4 14,609.7 15,356.4 16,010.4 746.7 654.0 10.4 10.2 9.6 0.5 0.4 Retail trade Transportation 4,168.1 4,504.9 4,950.4 336.8 445.5 3.0 3.0 3.0 0.8 0.9 and warehousing 3,218.4 2,996.9 3,115.0 -221.5 118.1 2.3 2.0 1.9 -0.7 0.4 Information Financial 7,462.4 8,145.5 8,702.7 683.1 557.2 5.3 5.4 5.2 0.9 0.7 activities Professional and 15,146.5 17,778.0 21,967.9 2,631.5 4,189.9 10.8 11.8 13.2 1.6 2.1 business services Educational 2,233.0 3,036.5 3,842.0 803.5 805.5 1.6 2.0 2.3 3.1 2.4 services Health care and 12,213.7 15,818.7 19,815.6 3,605.0 3,996.9 8.7 10.5 11.9 2.6 2.3 social assistance Leisure and 11,231.6 13,458.7 14,601.1 2,227.1 1,142.4 8.0 8.9 8.8 1.8 0.8 hospitality 5,749.8 6,333.2 7,141.9 583.4 808.7 4.1 4.2 4.3 1.0 1.2 Other services Federal 2,772.0 2,764.3 2,859.1 -7.7 94.8 2.0 1.8 1.7 0.0 0.3 government

Table 2.1 Employment by major industry sector, 1998, 2008, projected 2018 Average Percent Thousands of jobs Change annual rate distribution Industry sector of change 19981998- 20081998 2008 2018 2008-18 1998 2008 2018 2008 2008 18 State and local 17,137.3 19,735.2 21,326.7 2,597.9 1,591.5 12.2 13.1 12.8 1.4 0.8 government Agriculture, forestry, fishing, 2,528.0 2,098.3 2,020.1 -429.7 -78.2 1.8 1.4 1.2 -1.8 -0.4 and hunting (3) Agriculture wage 1,372.6 1,209.8 1,206.4 -162.8 -3.4 1.0 0.8 0.7 -1.3 0.0 and salary Agriculture selfemployed and 1,155.4 888.5 813.7 -266.9 -74.8 0.8 0.6 0.5 -2.6 -0.9 unpaid family workers