Metals Shipments Slow While Jobs Gap In The United States Gets Wider

Connecting the Dots monitors all major economic announcements in the United States and Canada, but MSCI also offers industrial metals industry-specific data products that provide much deeper analysis and insight. Visit MSCI’s website and click on Industry Data to learn more about our Metals Activity Report (MAR), Momentum Monitors, and Recovery Tracker.

Our October MAR found steel shipments declined in both the United States and Canada and aluminum shipments fell in the Canada. The only growth last month in metals shipments last month was a two percent increase in U.S. aluminum shipments. Read more here. Subscribers can find the full MAR here.

Meanwhile, here are the major headlines from the last week:

• The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics released the latest data on the number of jobs open in the country last week. The report showed that there were 10.4 million jobs left unfilled in the country it September. The report also showed that 4.4 million Americans, a full three percent of workers, quit their jobs in September. That number also was at a record level. Collectively this news means that, for every unemployed person in the United States in September, there were 1.4 job openings. Read the full report here.
• In related news, the National Federation of Independent Business announced the results of its monthly survey of small business owner sentiment. Owners are feeling less optimistic about the future — in part because of workforce challenges. Specifically, 49 percent of owners reported job openings that could not be filled and a net 44% of owners (seasonally adjusted) reported raising compensation, a 48-year record high reading. A net 32 percent plan to raise compensation in the next three months. Read the full report here.
• In other employment news, the U.S. Department of Labor announced last week that 267,000 individuals filed for federal unemployment benefits for the first time during the week that ended November 6, a decrease of 4,000 from the previous week’s revised level and lowest level for initial claims since March 14, 2020 when the pandemic began. The four-week average of claims also fell and is at its lowest level since March 14, 2020.
• The U.S. Producer Price Index for final demand increased 0.6 percent from September 2021 to October 2021 and 8.6 percent from October 2020 to October 2021. Read the full report here.
• Inflation in the United States accelerated to a 6.2 annual rate in October, the highest level seen in the United States since 1990. On a monthly basis, prices rose by 0.9 percent, up from a 0.4 percent rise in September. The October increase in the consumer price index came as the pandemic continued to cause supply disruptions and demand remained strong. Read the full report here.