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June 25, 2017

Economic Update – June 25, 2017

GDP Growth in Q1 Was a Disappoint but Q2 Appears Better… The last time we provided an economic update, in April, GDP growth in the first quarter of 2017 appeared to have slowed compared to second half of 2016. The numbers are now out and GDP did slow in Q1 to 1.2% compared to 2.1% in Q4 of 2016. Slower growth in the first quarter was attributed to slower consumer spending and a decline in inventory accumulation by businesses. Consumer spending in Q1 was estimated to have grown only 0.6% compared to Q1 of 2016 which is indeed a negative […]

March 5, 2019

Economic Update February/March 2019

Continued Strong Job Growth Should Help Drive Home Improvement Industry… In what should be quite beneficial for the home improvement industry job growth in the United States has remained strong. January nonfarm payrolls grew 304,000, higher than the consensus expectation of 165,000, with December adding 222,000. The average monthly gain in 2018 was 223,000. An additional positive is that average hourly earnings for employees increased to 3.2% in January compared to January 2018 reflecting rising pay for employees after many years of stagnant earnings growth. …With Consumer Confidence Bouncing Back… The Conference Board reported that its’ consumer confidence index rose […]