Statistics and Indicators

Signs of Exuberance Appear in Rush to Emerging Markets

NEW YORK and LONDON, May 20 -- Bullishness in global markets has reached new heights with seven out of 10 investors who predict the world economy will improve in the next twelve months, according to the Merrill Lynch Survey of Fund Managers for May.    » read more »

San Francisco — May 18, 2009 -- According to the Wells Fargo/Gallup Small Business Index, surveyed April 1-14, small business owners’ optimism for the future rose for the first time since 2007. The “future expectations” (next 12 months) score rose nine points (to 10) while the “present situation” score dropped 6 points to negative eleven (-11). These metrics comprise the overall Index score, which reflects six key measures: financial situation, cash flow, revenues, capital spending, job hiring and credit availability.    » read more »

May 12, 2009 -- WASHINGTON—U.S. Commerce Secretary Gary Locke issued the following statement on the release of the March 2009 U.S. International Trade in Goods and Services report by the Commerce Department’s U.S. Census Bureau and the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis. Today’s report showed that U.S. exports decreased by 2.4 percent to $123.6 billion since February 2009. Imports decreased 1.0 percent to $151.2 billion. Overall, the trade deficit grew 5.5 percent during the same time period.    » read more »

May 12, 2009 -- The nation’s largest airlines had a rate of on-time flights this past March that was higher than the same month last year but down from the mark posted in February 2009, according to the Air Travel Consumer Report released today by the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT).

According to information filed with the Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS), a part of DOT’s Research and Innovative Technology Administration (RITA), the 19 carriers reporting on-time performance recorded an overall on-time arrival rate of 78.4 percent in March, better than the 71.6 percent on-time rate of March 2008 but down from February 2009’s 82.6 percent.    » read more »

Consumer Confidence Weak but Optimism Exists

New York, NY, April 22, 2009 -- Global declines in consumer activity appear to be moderating or bottoming out, according to this month’s Nielsen Economic Current scorecard of consumer behavior, a regular report from The Nielsen Company. The report found that out of 11 major GDP countries, only one country – Germany – changed positions on the Nielsen scorecard, showing an uptick in consumer behavior during the month of February.    » read more »

(Phoenix, AZ) – Arizona’s economy continued to show weakness as the state’s unemployment rate rose from 7.4% to 7.8% in March. Arizona’s unemployment figures remain lower than the national average, 8.5% (8.1% in February).

Arizona’s nonfarm payrolls continued to decline with the loss of 7,600 jobs in March. Since the beginning of the national recession (December 2007), Arizona’s economy has lost 230,400 jobs, with 183,100 of the losses occurring since March 2008.

All but three of the 11 major industry groups posted losses in the month. Those gains were seen in trade, transportation and utilities; leisure and hospitality; and other services.    » read more »

Washington, D.C. (April 13) – Wind energy leaders in several categories maintained their #1 positions even as other leaders emerged in new categories, while 24 states saw new wind turbine and component manufacturing facilities opened, expanded or announced in 2008, according to the annual wind energy industry rankings report released today by the American Wind Energy Association (AWEA).

The new listings, based on 2008 year-end numbers, show Texas leading in wind capacity and largest wind farms installed, Minnesota and Iowa both generating over 7% of their electricity from wind, and Indiana as the state with the fastest growth in wind on a percentage basis.    » read more »

ATLANTA, GA, TUESDAY, MARCH 31, 2009 -- In April 2009, U.S. Census Bureau field representatives will collect information about how much Americans spend for groceries, clothing, transportation, housing, health care and other items from a sample of households across the country.

The Consumer Expenditure Survey (CE) program consists of two parts:

* The Interview Survey — Throughout the year, about 28,000 households will be interviewed once every three months over five calendar quarters to obtain data on relatively large expenditures and also for those expenditures that occur on a regular basis (such as rent and utilities).    » read more »

Tuesday, March 31, 2009 - Surface transportation trade between the United States and its North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) partners Canada and Mexico was 27.2 percent lower in January 2009 than in January 2008, dropping to $47.5 billion, the biggest year-to-year percentage decline on record, according to the Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS) of the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT). The $47.5 billion in U.S.-NAFTA trade in January 2009 was the lowest monthly amount since January 2004.

The value of U.S. surface transportation trade with Canada and Mexico fell 10.3 percent in January from December. Month-to-month changes can be affected by seasonal variations and other factors.    » read more »

March 25, 2009 -- WASHINGTON - U.S. Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Secretary Shaun Donovan released the following statement today in response to new data suggesting improvements in the housing market. Today, the U.S. Census Bureau and HUD announced an increase in residential home sales in February 2009.

"This week we have seen some encouraging news on housing. Sales of both new and existing homes rose in February for the first time in more than six months while home prices are starting to stabilize.    » read more »

Seasonally Adjusted Data

March 26, 2009 -- In the week ending March 21, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 652,000, an increase of 8,000 from the previous week's revised figure of 644,000. The 4-week moving average was 649,000, a decrease of 1,000 from the previous week's revised average of 650,000.

The advance seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate was 4.2 percent for the week ending March 14, an increase of 0.1 percentage point from the prior week's unrevised rate of 4.1 percent.    » read more »

San Francisco — March 25, 2009 -- Small business owners’ optimism recently dropped to its lowest level in the six years that the Wells Fargo/Gallup Small Business Index has been conducted. Covering a survey period of January 22 - February 2, the score now stands at negative four (-4), down 14 points from the previous survey (November, 2008), and 118 points lower than the Index high of 114 (November, 2006). It is the first time the index has dropped below zero. A score of zero indicates that small business owners, as a group, are neutral -- neither optimistic nor pessimistic -- about their companies’ situations.    » read more »

State Budget, Stimulus Projects can Help Get Pennsylvanians Back to Work

March 19, 2009 -- HARRISBURG – Pennsylvania Governor Edward G. Rendell said today quick action is needed to help Pennsylvania withstand the economic punches from the struggling national economy. The state’s February unemployment rate1 rose to 7.5 percent, while the nonfarm job count2 dropped by 41,000 jobs.

“We cannot afford to wait for someone else to draw up a roadmap,” Governor Rendell said. “Now is the time to get in the driver’s seat, restart our economy and get it moving ourselves.    » read more »

March 19, 2009 -- The birth rate for U.S. teens aged 15 to 19 increased by about 1 percent in 2007, from 41.9 births per 1,000 in 2006 to 42.5 in 2007, according to a report Printable PDF released today by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. This is the second year in a row that teen births have gone up. They increased 3 percent in 2006 following a 14-year decline.

Birth rates also increased for women in their 20s, 30s and early 40s, but remained unchanged for younger teens and pre-teens aged 10-14. Only Hispanic teens noted a decline in the birth rate, which fell 2 percent in 2007 to 81.7 births per 1,000.    » read more »

March 16, 2009 -- (Salem) – “Today’s employment report delivers another month of sobering news that is reflective of national economic trends. This report is not just about numbers, it is about our family, friends and neighbors and the State of Oregon is doing everything we can to help Oregonians weather this difficult time.

“The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act allowed the state to increase unemployment benefits to help families make ends meet while seeking employment. It also provides an opportunity to expand benefits to part time workers and recently dislocated workers, who currently are not eligible for benefits. A set of bills to carry out this expansion are before the legislature and I urge the legislature to take action on these bills.    » read more »