A WEEKLY ECONOMIC UPDATE FROM CONGRESSMAN GREGORY W. MEEKS

ECONOMIC ACTIVITY

Employment

• Total nonfarm payroll employment increased by 151,000 in October, a much larger increase than markets expected. (Bureau of Labor Statistics)

• Private employment grew by 159,000, well above market expectations of 80,000. Private employment showed its largest growth since April and has now grown for 10 consecutive months. (Bureau of Labor Statistics)

• The August private employment change was revised up by 50,000 (now +143,000), and the September change was revised up by 43,000 (now +107,000). The average monthly growth in private employment during 2010:Q3 was 122,000, compared with 118,000 in 2010:Q2 and 79,000 in 2010:Q1. (Bureau of Labor Statistics)

• The four-week moving average of initial UI claims (which smoothes weekly volatility) was 456,000, down slightly from four weeks earlier. This is the eighth consecutive such decline. (Employment and Training Administration)

• In the week ending October 23, the number of people continuing to receive UI benefits decreased by 42,000 to 4.340 million. The four-week moving average of continued claims was 4.411 million, down 112,250 from four weeks earlier, its lowest level since late 2008. (Employment and Training Administration)

Consumer Spending

• Seasonally adjusted U.S. auto sales of light vehicles rose at a 12.3 million rate in October, the fastest pace since the cash-for-clunkers program was in effect. Excluding that period, auto sales in October were the strongest in over two years. (Autodata)

Production

• The purchasing managers’ index (PMI) rose 2.5 points to 56.9 in October, exceeding market expectations. The October level indicates continued expansion in the manufacturing sector. All five PMI components were above 50 (indicating growth)—production (62.7), new orders (58.9), employment (57.7), raw materials inventories (53.9), and supplier deliveries (51.2). (Institute for Supply Management)

Productivity

• Nonfarm business sector labor productivity increased 1.9% at an annual rate in the third quarter, as output increased 3.0% and employee hours increased by 1.1%. The increase in employee hours was entirely due to a 1.2% increase in weekly work hours. This was the fourth consecutive increase in employee hours. (Bureau of Labor Statistics)

• Productivity in the manufacturing sector rose 0.4 percent in Q3, as output grew 4.0 percent and hours worked increased 3.6 percent. Over the past four quarters, manufacturing productivity was up 3.9 percent. This reflected a 7 percent surge in output over the four quarters through 2010Q3, and a 3.0 percent increase in hours worked. (Bureau of Labor Statistics)