New reports released Thursday indicating corporations continue to purchase new equipment suggest that manufacturing will remain central to the nation’s economic recovery until the middle of the year.
In January the New York-based Conference Board forecast a 0.3 percent increase for the upcoming months. The Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia seconded the data, showing the general economic index reached 17.6 in February, up 2.4 points from the previous measure of 15.2. Any numbers above zero indicate growth in the sector.
Despite such readings, the highest in nearly five years, the positice outlook in manufacturing have yet to bolster hiring essential to for an economic recovery.
The rising jobless rate, and reports indicating it will shift little from the current 9.7 percent in 2010, have inspired considerable speculation that the recovery may be anemic. Such reports pull the market down, even when indicators of manufacturing growth and commodities improvements offer convincing evidence in the other direction.
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