In a post from Sunday, I noted that NFP employment might be overestimated, but trends were generally aligned. Noting how the Business Employment Dynamics (BED) and Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW) data have provided different signals, Steven Englander at Standard Charter has calculated how much overstatement there might be. Continue reading
Author Archives: Menzie Chinn
China, Mid-2023: Teetering on Deflation
The June numbers for Chinese inflation surprised on the downside: 0.0% headline vs. +0.2% y/y Bloomberg consensus, -5.4% PPI vs. -5.0% consensus. Continue reading
FERC/NERC Report On Texas 2021
Clearly, electricity generators and natural gas providers were the problem in reduced supply during the winter crisis of 2021, according to the FERC/NERC report.
Alternative Readings on Private and Total Nonfarm Payroll Employment
NFP surprised on downside slightly; however, alternative measures indicate continued growth through at least May. That characterization also applies to private NFP.
Business Cycle Indicators as Employment Growth Decelerates
Nonfarm payroll employment surprises on the downside, while preceding months are revised down. Here’s the picture of key indicators followed by the NBER BCDC, along with monthly GDP (SPGMI).
The Manufacturing Construction Boom and Nonresidential Investment
Deputy Asst Secretary Tara Sinclair and Asst Sec Van Nostrand and Special Asst Gupta discuss the ongoing boom in manufacturing construction. Here’s one graph:
Remembering History: Texas Power Generation Outages in the 2021 Crisis
Here is plotted some time series, from Busby et al. “Cascading risks: Understanding the 2021 winter blackout in Texas,” Energy Research & Social Science Volume 77, July 2021, 102106.
June Private NFP Nowcasted, based on ADP Series
ADP private nonfarm has a blowout upside surprise of +497K vs. consensus +228K. For context, the m/m standard deviation of log first differences is 0.0028, vs. June reading of 0.0039.
Using the correlation between log first differences for BLS nonfarm payroll employment and ADP, I get the following prediction or “nowcast” for the BLS number to be released tomorrow, taken literally, a 486K employment increase (ignoring revisions to previous months):
On the Reliability of Non-Renewables Energy Production: Texas, June 18, 2023
Of Technocrats and Ideologues in Economic Data/Analysis Dissemination
I’ve gotten jaded by getting regular emails alerting me to the fact a new Wisconsin Economic Outlook Forecast or Monthly Economic Update (the latest just out, here). In addition, DoR has substantially expanded its interactive data visualizations here. But after a little thought, I really have to say it’s been a sea change in openness since Governor Walker exited.