Fears for US as factory orders and jobs slow
A SLUMP in factory orders and a smaller than expected rise in private sector employment yesterday knocked hopes for a stronger US economic recovery.
New orders for US factory goods in March recorded their biggest decline in three years as demand for transportation equipment and a range of other goods slumped, Commerce Department figures showed. Orders for manufactured goods dropped 1.5 per cent after a revised 1.1 per cent rise in February. Orders for transportation equipment tumbled 12.6 per cent in March on weak orders for civilian aircraft. Orders for motor vehicles and parts was flat in March after rising one per cent in February.
Meanwhile the ADP employment survey showed private sector job creation ran at 119,000 in April firmly below the 201,000 jobs created in March and lower than the 170,000 widely expected.
“This will renew fears of another spring slump in the labour market,” said Capital Economics’ Paul Ashworth.