Industrial Production Rises In The United States
- According to the Federal Reserve, industrial production in the United States rose 0.4 percent in May after falling 0.4 percent in April. Manufacturing and mining output increased 0.2 percent and 0.1 percent, respectively while utilities’ production rose 2.1 percent.
- Manufacturers’ sales in the United States in April was an estimated at $1.462 trillion, down 0.2 percent from March 2019, but up 2.8 percent from April 2018. Inventories were at $2.03 trillion, up 0.5 percent for the month and 5.3 percent year-over-year.
- According to the U.S. Department of Labor, 222,000 individuals filed for federal unemployment benefits during week that ended June 8, up from 219,000 the week before. The four-week moving average of first-time claims was 217,750, an increase of 2,500 from the previous week. The number of individuals who continued to file for claims rose to 1.695 million for the week that ended June 1, up from 1.693 million the week before. The four-week moving average of continuing claims also rose. In other employment news: there were 7.5 million jobs open in the United States in May and, as The Wall Street Journal explained, the gap between the number of jobs that are available and the number of people who are unemployed was at its widest margin ever.
- In other economic news: the U.S. Consumer Price Indexrose 0.1 percent from April 2019 to May 2019 and 1.8 percent between May 2018 and May 2019; the U.S. Producer Price Index rose 0.1 percent between April and May and was up 1.8 percent year-over-year; and the National Federation of Independent Business’ small business optimism index rose 1.5 percentage points in June due in part to the fact that more employers said they are getting ready to make capital outlays and increase hiring.