The Federal Reserve Bank of NY’s Empire State Manufacturing Survey plunged over 36 points to -11.6 in May indicating NYS manufacturing is contracting (a reading above 0.0 is indicative of expansion). It is the largest monthly decline since a fall of over 57 points in April 2020 at the height of the first Covid wave. All the sub-indices, including Prices Paid and Prices Received moved lower, with the exception of Number of Employees and Average Employee Workweek. Over the last three months, the index has gyrated up and down from -11.8 in March up to 24.6 in April and down to -11.6 in May, perhaps in reaction to high inflation and the faltering stock market. See the full report here.
