U.S. Review - Activity Marches Higher
- Increased vaccinations and an improving public health position led to an easing of restrictions and pickup in activity across the country in March. Firms' need for labor has increased to meet demand and employers added a whopping 916K jobs last month as the recovery gained momentum (see Chart). Prior job gains were revised higher as well, but the March figure still denotes a significant pickup from the first two months of the year.
- For the second consecutive month, the hard-hit leisure & hospitality industry posted a solid gain (+280K), as in-person activity continues to recover. Construction payrolls also jumped 110K last month after severe winter weather weighed on the industry in February. Overall, hiring was broad based with nearly every major industry reporting gains. The few exceptions were the autos & parts and information industries, which reported very modest declines in net hiring of -1K and -2K, respectively. The unemployment rate slid 0.2 percentage points to 6.0% in March.
U.S. Outlook - ISM Services • Monday
The ISM Services index was not immune to the slowdown seen across the economy in February. The index slipped 3.4 points to its slowest pace of expansion since May 2020. The new orders index fell even further, down 9.9 points to 51.9, though some of this decline may reect the fact that long-depleted inventories have at last been restocked.
This Week's State Of The Economy - What Is Ahead? - 23 February 2024
Wells Fargo Economics & Financial Report / Feb 27, 2024
Stronger-than-expected inflation, underpinned by the mildly hawkish minutes from the January FOMC meeting, drove a move higher in mortgage rates.
Where Will That $2 Trillion Come From Anyway?
Wells Fargo Economics & Financial Report / Apr 01, 2020
Net Treasury issuance is set to surge in the coming weeks and months. At present, we look for the federal budget deficit to be $2.4 trillion in FY 2020 and $1.7 trillion in FY 2021.
Rising COVID-19 Cases Put A Damper On Re-openings
Wells Fargo Economics & Financial Report / Jun 27, 2020
The rising number of COVID-19 infections gained momentum this week, with most of the rise occurring in the South and West. The rise in infections is larger than can be explained by increased testing alone and is slowing re-openings.
This Week's State Of The Economy - What Is Ahead? - 25 September 2020
Wells Fargo Economics & Financial Report / Sep 28, 2020
Existing home sales rose 2.4% to a 6.0-million unit annual pace. The surge in sales further depleted inventories and pushed prices sharply higher.
June 2020 Economy At A Glance
Wells Fargo Economics & Financial Report / Jun 18, 2020
The Fed expects to hold interest rates near zero through the end of this year, perhaps well into next year, and maybe even into ’22.
This Week's State Of The Economy - What Is Ahead? - 19 July 2024
Wells Fargo Economics & Financial Report / Jul 22, 2024
Retail sales, housing starts and industrial production all surprised to the upside this week.
This Week's State Of The Economy - What Is Ahead? - 09 April 2021
Wells Fargo Economics & Financial Report / Apr 10, 2021
This week\'s economic data kicked of with a bang. The ISM Services Index jumped more than eight points to 63.7, signaling the fastest pace of expansion in the index\'s 24-year history.
This Week's State Of The Economy - What Is Ahead? - 20 May 2022
Wells Fargo Economics & Financial Report / May 29, 2022
U.S. retail sales topped expectations in April, while industrial production also grew more rapidly than economists expected. Data on housing starts, home sales and homebuilder sentiment, however, showed tentative signs of cooling.
This Week's State Of The Economy - What Is Ahead? - 20 September 2019
Wells Fargo Economics & Financial Report / Sep 21, 2019
The Federal Reserve reduced the fed funds rate 25 bps this week, continuing to cite economic weakness overseas and muted inflation pressures.
This Week's State Of The Economy - What Is Ahead? - 20 November 2020
Wells Fargo Economics & Financial Report / Nov 24, 2020
The international economic news over the past week has been somewhat mixed. On the positive side, China’s October data showed ongoing growth in manufacturing and firming retail and service sector activity.
