Consumer sentiment increases in August early august:
The consumer sentiment index, a survey of consumers by The University of Michigan, rose to 97.6 in August. Economists estimated the index would increase to 94.
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The index measures 500 consumers' attitudes in future economic prospects, in areas such as personal finances, inflation, unemployment, government policies and interest rates.*
Retail Sales
In the retail sales report, online sales were positive, up 1.3 percent, or 11.4 percent annually, about in line with recent months despite an expected kick from Amazon's Prime Day in July, Swonk said. Department stores however did better than expected, up 1 percent but still down for the year. Amazon's self proclaimed shopping holiday in July was met by in store and online promotions by many other retailers.**.
Meanwhile, industrial production was up a bit in July
Industrial production—a measure of everything made by factories, mines and utilities—grew 0.2% in July from a month earlier, the Federal Reserve said Thursday. Economists had expected a 0.3% increase.
Mining and utility output climbed steadily, but a slowdown in factory output suggested underlying softness in the economy. Factory output fell 0.1%, the second monthly decline in three months. Production of vehicles and parts fell sharply, outweighing a rise in the production of other goods.
...........................................................................Capacity use, a measure of slack across industries, was flat at 76.7%.***
Unemployment Claims
Unemployment claims as claims/100,000 workers is a new record because of the increase in employment since 1970.
It was the 128th week that claims remained below 300,000, a threshold associated with a robust labor market. That is the longest such stretch since 1970, when the labor market was smaller. The unemployment rate is 4.3 percent.****
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The survey's measure of new orders surged to 20.4 from 2.1 in July. Firms also reported that shipments continued to rise.
As a result, workers put in more hours. The average workweek index increased to 18.8 in August from 3.8 in the prior month.
A third report from the Fed showed manufacturing output fell 0.1 percent in July as the production of motor vehicles and parts tumbled 3.6 percent.****
Youth Summer UnemploymentI don't recall seeing any information on national youth unemployment before:
The unemployment rate among young Americans fell this summer to match the lowest level in nearly a half-century.
The jobless rate for Americans between 16 and 24 years old fell to 9.6% in July from 11.5% a year earlier, the Labor Department said Wednesday. The rate reflects those actively seeking but unable to find a job.
Last month’s figure, while more than double the rate for all adults, matched July 2000 as the lowest midsummer jobless number since 1969. But the historically low rate comes with a big caveat: A far smaller share of young people are seeking summer jobs than in decades past.****
* https://www.cnbc.com/2017/08/18/august-us-consumer-sentiment.html** https://www.cnbc.com/2017/08/15/consumers-are-shopping-showing-economy-may-be-stronger-than-expected.html
*** https://www.wsj.com/articles/u-s-industrial-output-up-modestly-in-july-1502975099
**** https://www.cnbc.com/2017/08/17/us-weekly-jobless-claims-aug-12-2017.html
https://www.wsj.com/articles/summer-youth-unemployment-falls-to-lowest-level-since-1969-1502899458
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