Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia (01/15/15)

The pace of regional manufacturing activity increased modestly in January, according to firms responding to the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia’s Manufacturing Business Outlook Survey. The survey’s broadest measure of manufacturing conditions, the diffusion index of current activity, decreased 18 points, from a revised reading of 24.3 in December to 6.3 in January. The demand for manufactured goods, as measured by the current new orders index, decreased 5 points, from a revised reading of 13.6 last month to 8.5 this month. Meanwhile, firms’ responses suggest weaker labor market conditions in January compared with December. The current employment index fell 10 points, from 8.4 to -2.0. The percentage of firms reporting a shorter workweek (23%) was greater than the percentage reporting a longer workweek (16%).