by Calculated Risk on 5/15/2017 08:37:00 AM

From the NY Fed: Empire State Manufacturing Survey

Business activity leveled off in New York State, according to firms responding to the May 2017 Empire State Manufacturing Survey. The headline general business conditions index fell six points to -1.0. The new orders index dropped to -4.4, suggesting a small decline in orders, and the shipments index edged down to 10.6, indicating that shipments increased at a slightly slower pace than in April. ...
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Employment indexes remained positive, pointing to continued improvement in labor market conditions. The index for number of employees edged down to 11.9, and the average workweek index was little changed at 7.5. ...

Indexes assessing the six-month outlook suggested that firms remained optimistic about future conditions. The index for future business conditions held steady at 39.3, and indexes for future new orders and shipments were somewhat higher. Employment was expected to increase in the months ahead.
emphasis added

The slight contraction in May (-1.0) was below the consensus forecast of a reading of 7.0.