Economic Barometer: January 2023

• Last month, the U.S. manufacturing sector contracted at the fastest pace since the pandemic lockdowns of 2020, according the S&P Global survey of purchasing managers.
• Also, the Institute of Supply Management’s manufacturing index shows the sector last month posted its first decline in nearly three years.
• The U.S. Department of Labor reported a slight increase in U.S. manufacturing job openings — 779,000 openings as of November. (Over the past 12 months, manufacturing job openings averaged nearly 837,000, well above pre-pandemic levels.)
• The Conference Board’s Leading Economic Indicators showed economic conditions last month worsened for the fourth straight month.
• This infographic published by Visual Capitalist shows how much prices increased for select U.S. goods over the past year.

Meanwhile, the latest survey conducted by the National Association of Manufacturers shows more than 62% of manufacturing leaders believed the U.S. economy would slip officially into a recession in 2023. 1/5/2023