US Long-lasting Goods Orders Plummet, Weekly Jobless Claims Decrease

October's durable goods orders declined by 5.4%, surpassing expectations, demonstrating greater decline than anticipated.

Highlights

• Orders for durable goods fall by 5.4%, exceeding predictions.
• The number of initial unemployment claims decreases to 209,000.
• The transportation sector is the primary contributor to the downturn in durable goods.  

In the October 2022 Durable Goods Report, new orders for manufactured durable goods dropped by $16.0 billion or 5.4% to $279.4 billion, marking a notable decline in three of the last four months, surpassing the anticipated 3.2% decrease. Excluding transportation, new orders remained practically unchanged, indicating that the overall decrease was heavily influenced by the transportation sector. Excluding defense, new orders experienced a 6.7% decline, primarily driven by a significant drop in transportation equipment orders, down 14.8% to $92.1 billion.

Regarding the Weekly Initial Claims Report for the week ending November 18, there was a decrease in seasonally adjusted initial claims to 209,000, down 24,000 from the prior week. The figure was lower than the anticipated 226,000 new claims. The 4-week moving average also showed a slight decrease to 220,000, reflecting an overall downward trend in initial claims. While the seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate remained steady at 1.2%, the number of seasonally adjusted insured unemployment decreased to 1,840,000 during the same week, but the 4-week moving average for insured unemployment rose to 1,836,750.

In summary, the durable goods sector experienced a significant downturn primarily driven by decreases in transportation equipment orders, while the labor market demonstrated resilience with a decrease in initial unemployment claims. These contrasting movements underline the intricate and multi-dimensional nature of the current economic environment.