Robust Job Growth In Canada While U.S. Employment Report Underwhelms

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Meanwhile, here are the major headlines from the last two weeks:

• The Canadian economy expanded 1.3 percent in the third quarter of 2021 in large part due to a 14 percent increase household spending and a 1.9 percent increase in exports. Read the full report here.
• The Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago’s National Activity Index, a key gauge of future economic growth in the United States, rose to +0.76 in October from -0.18 in September. Read the full report here. In related news: the Institute for Supply Management’s manufacturing index rose to 61.1 percent in November, an increase of 0.3 percentage points from October reading. The reading indicated expansion in the overall economy for the 18th month in a row after a contraction in April 2020. Read more here.
• S. employers added 210,000 jobs in November, less than half the number that analysts had predicted. The nation’s unemployment rate fell from 4.6 percent in October to 4.2 percent last month, however, and that number is now less than one percentage point above its pre-pandemic rate. Manufacturers added 31,000 in November. Read the full report here.
• Canadian employers added 153,700 jobs in November, bringing total employment in the country to 19.3 million. That number is now higher than it was before the COVID-19 pandemic. Both the services and goods-producing sectors added jobs. The vast majority of the gains in goods-producing industries were attributable to manufacturing, which added 35,000 jobs. The country’s unemployment rate also declined last month, dropping to six percent. Read the full report here.
• New orders for manufactured goods in the United States rose one percent in October to $522.1 billion. Shipments increased two percent to $523.4 billion while unfilled orders rose 0.3 percent. The unfilled orders-to-shipments ratio was 6.76. Inventories improved 0.8 percent to $764.2 billion and the inventories-to-shipments ratio was 1.46, down from 1.48 in September.
• The Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond’s manufacturing index for the Central Atlantic region fell slightly, to +11 in November from +12 in October. All three component indexes — shipments, new orders, and employment — continued to reflect growth, however, but many firms reported inventories are too low. Read the full report here. The Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas said manufacturing activity in Texas factory expanded at a faster pace in November. The bank’s production index rose nine points to +27.4, a reading well above average, and readings for new orders, capacity utilization, and shipments also improved. Read the full report here.
• The number of individuals filing for federal first-time unemployment benefits in the United States rose to 222,000 during the week that ended November 27, an increase of 28,000 from the previous week’s level. The four-week moving average was 238,750, a decrease of 12,250 from the previous week’s average. That number was at its lowest level since March 14, 2020.
• In other news: U.S. personal incomes increased 0.5 percent while personal consumption expenditures jumped 1.3 percent; existing home sales in the United States rose 0.8 percent from September 2021 to October 2021, but declined 5.8 percent year-over-year; the University of Michigan’s index of consumer sentiment fell to 67.4 in November from 71.7 in November; and the Conference Board’s consumer confidence reading for the United States fell to 109.5 in November from 111.6 in October.