Economy + Supply Data
By Purchasing Staff -- Purchasing, 11/13/2008 7:00:00 AM
| Indicator/Index | Most recent change | What it means |
| Jobless claims | Up to 478,000 weekly in Oct. | Economists consider above 400,000 "recession territory" |
| Housing foreclosures | Up 71% in 3Q | More houses on the market brings down prices and slows construction |
| Housing starts | Down 31% over Sept. 2007 | Fewer starts means less demand for materials and spending |
| Conference Board's Leading Indicators | Up 0.3% | Suggests economy may be stabilizing |
| Fed Reserve Industrial Production | Dropped 2.8% in Sept. | The factory operating rate of 74.5% is 5% below the 1972–2007 average |
| Purchasingdata.com Business Conditions | Purchasing's index dropped more than six points in Oct. | At 35.6, it's the lowest reading of the index since Nov. 2001 |
| Retail sales | Decline 1.2% in Sept. | Biggest drop in three years |
WHAT'S AHEAD:According to the National Association of Business Economics, two out of three economists now believe that a recession has already begun or will begin before 2008 is over. This compares with just slightly more than half of the economists who held this view in the May survey.
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