A WEEKLY ECONOMIC UPDATE FROM CONGRESSMAN GREGORY W. MEEKS

January 31, 2011

Economic Activity

Real GDP

• Real gross domestic product increased at an annual rate of 3.2 percent in the fourth quarter of 2010. The increase in real GDP in the fourth quarter reflected positive contributions from personal consumption expenditures, exports, and nonresidential fixed investment. (Bureau of Economic Analysis)

Personal Income

• Real disposable personal income (DPI) rose 2.1% over the past twelve months. On a per capita basis, real DPI has risen 1.3% over the past year, after falling 0.1% in each of the previous two years. (Commerce Department)

Employment

• The number of mass layoff events reached its lowest level since April 2008. The number of mass layoff events in December decreased by 96 from the prior month, and the number of associated initial unemployment benefit claims decreased by 10,808. (Bureau of Labor Statistics)

Production

• Shipment of manufactured durable goods in December increased $2.8 billion or 1.4 percent to $200.4 billion and has been up for three of the last four months. This followed a .5 percent November increase. Shipments of machinery, up four of the last five months, had the largest increase, $1.7 billion or 6.7 percent to $27.1 billion. (Census Bureau)

Consumer Confidence

• The Conference Board Consumer Confidence index rose 7.3 points to 60.6 in January, above its average value in 2010 and the highest reading since May. The rise in the overall Conference Board index reflects increases in both primary component indexes. The present situation index rose 6.1 points to 31.0. The expectations index gained 8.0 points to 80.3. The share of consumers expecting business conditions to improve during the next six months increased to 19 percent. The percentage of consumers expecting more jobs to become available in the months ahead increased to 16 percent. (Conference Board)

Housing

• New single-family home sales rose 17.5% in December to 329,000 units at an annual rate, which is their highest level since the expiration of the tax credit in April. December’s increase was mostly driven by a sharp rise in the West, where new home sales increased 72% to 110,000 units at an annual rate. (Census Bureau)}