Weak Jobs Report.
BLS Employment Situation Report (September 2013)
– Non-farm Jobs +149,000. August was revised up 45,000 and July was revised down 15,000 for a net gain of +179,000.
– Labor Participation Ratio held at 63.2%.
My Friday newsletter will have the usual detailed analysis of this report.
ICSC-Goldman Store Sales (week ended October 19, 2013)
– Store Sales Week/Week +1.4%. Previous was -0.7% – Store Sales Year/Year +3.2%. Previous was +1.0%.
Redbook Store Sales (week ended October 19, 2013)
– Store Sales Year/Year +2.9%. Previous was 3.2%.
The Consumer Metrics Institute Daily Absolute Demand Index has been trending upward since October 14. Retail shows some improvement from a couple of bad weeks.
Construction Spending (August 2013)
– Construction Spending Month/Month + 0.6%. Previous revised from +0.6% to +1.4% – Construction Spending Year/Year +7.1%.
While the revisions make the data harder to read I would still rate this as mildly positive.
Richmond Federal Manufacturing Index (October 2013)
– Level is +1. Previous was 0.