The Empire State Manufacturing unexpectedly collapsed, coming in at -6.80 for October.
That number is below economists’ expectations of an increase to 1.00, and a drop from the prior month’s reading of -2.0.
The report notes that the new orders index ticked up but stayed in the negative at -5.6, while the shipments index came in at -0.6.
Moreover, the labor market remained weak. “The employment index increased ten points to -4.7 and the average workweek index edged up one point to -10.4, indicating that employment counts and hours worked continued to decline,” the report added.
However, on the positive side, indices for the six-month outlook suggest that firms think things will improve in the upcoming months.