MarketWatch (04/02/13)
The Philadelphia Fed’s coincident index ticked up 0.3% in February for a 2.8% year-on-year increase. Alabama, Illinois, and New Mexico realized declines in coincident indexes in February, while 45 states realized improvements and Hawaii and Wyoming held steady. North Dakota and Texas saw some of the biggest gains, thanks to their energy industries. The coincident index combines four variables—nonfarm payroll employment, average hours worked in manufacturing, the unemployment rate, and real wage and salaries—in one index, roughly mirroring gross domestic product growth.