by Bespoke Investment Group
Today's Empire Manufacturing report was pretty much negative across the board. The headline index was weaker than expected (-7.79 vs. 12.00) and negative for the first time since November 2010. In addition to the week headline number, some of the sub-indices saw their largest monthly drops on record (Shipments and Average Workweek) going back to 2001. While those who are in the camp that the current weakness is temporary should not be surprised to see weak numbers, it is still unwelcome to say the least.
In this month's supplementary questions, one question asked respondents what are the most important factors restraining hiring plans? In the table below we highlight the responses. It comes as no surprise that expected slow sales growth (43.8%) and the desire to keep costs low (20.5%) top the list. What is surprising, however, is that the third most important factor was that employers cannot find enough skilled workers (19.2%). This highlights a growing dichotomy within the US labor market where skilled workers are having a much easier time finding work, while unskilled workers languish on the rolls of the unemployed.
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