Empire Manufacturing At 4-Year High

The July 2014 Empire State Manufacturing Survey indicates that business conditions improved significantly for a third consecutive month for New York manufacturers. The Empire Index – one of the more closely watched indicators due to it being a current report – surged to a reading of +25.6 in July. This was well above the consensus for a reading of +16.8 and above last month's reading of +19.28. At 25.6, the headline index is the highest level in more than four years. Recent readings for reference: June: 19.28 May: +19.01 April: +1.29 March: +5.6 February: +4.5 January 2014: +12.51 December: +2.2 November: -2.2 October: +1.5 September: +6.3 August: +8.2 July: +9.5 June: +7.8 May: -1.4 April: +3.06 March: +9.24 The internal components of the report showed improvement – especially in the area of jobs: New Orders: +18.8 versus +18.36 last month Employment: +17.0 vs. +10.75 last month Prices Paid: +25.0 versus +17.20 last month The Empire Manufacturing Index is designed to indicate the state of the manufacturing sector in the New York region.