The unemployment rate in March fell to 4.4%, matching a five-year low, the Labor Department reported April 6. Employers boosted their payrolls by 180,000 workers in March, the most since December. The figures suggest that companies are not feeling a need to restrict hiring in an economy that has otherwise shown signs of sluggishness.
New orders placed with U.S. factories rose by 1% in February, the Commerce Department said April 4. Economists were expecting a bigger 1.9% increase. Despite the lackluster showing, February's performance was a sharp improvement from the 5.7% plunge in new orders reported in January.
Meanwhile, the Institute for Supply Management (ISM) said its manufacturing index slipped to 50.9 in March, smaller than February's reading of 52.3 and Wall Street's expectation of 51. Any reading larger than 50 indicates growth for the sector.
Similarly, growth in the nation's service sector slowed, as the ISM's service sector index fell to 52.4 in March from February's 54.3 reading. The index also fell short of the 54.7 reading analysts had predicted.
For the week ending April 5, interest rates on 30-year mortgages nudged up, but still hovered close to their low for the year.
This week look for updates on the trade balance and Producer Price Index on April 13.
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