Washington, Sep 1 (IANS/EFE) Factory orders increased 2.4 percent in July as US manufacturing had its best month since March, the Commerce Department said Wednesday.
Economists had forecast a gain of 2 percent in July following a 0.4 percent drop in orders the previous month.
Orders for motor vehicles and parts surged 9.8 percent last month, the biggest advance since January 2003, while durable goods orders climbed 4.1 percent after declining 1.1 percent in June.
Inventories expanded in July for the 19th consecutive month, growing by 0.9 percent.
Manufacturing, which has been the few bright spot of the US economic recovery, appears to be regaining its footing after stumbles attributed to higher energy costs and supply disruptions associated with Japan’s March 11 earthquake and tsunami.
The Conference Board’s Consumer Confidence Index plunged this month to 44.5 points, down from 59.2 in July, when it experienced a slight improvement after two consecutive months of decline.
The US economy created 117,000 net new jobs in July, bringing the official unemployment rate down by a tenth of a percentage point to 9.1 percent.
Nearly 14 million people remain out of work more than two years after a recession that destroyed 8.4 million jobs, while the workforce participation rate – the proportion of the population working or seeking work – declined last month to 63.9 percent, the lowest since 1984.
