U.S. Challenger job cuts in May totaled 93,816, down from 105,441 in April. Year-on-year growth of announced job cuts slowed to 47.0% (April YoY: 62.7%), signaling a deceleration in layoff activity.
The ISM Non-Manufacturing PMI for May edged down to 49.9 (April: 51.6), slipping just below the 50 threshold and signaling near‐contraction in the services sector. Business Activity also slowed sharply to 50.0 (April: 53.7). New Orders plunged to 46.4 (April: 52.3), reflecting waning demand, while Employment ticked up to 50.7 (April: 49.0), returning to modest growth. Meanwhile, Prices Paid accelerated to 68.7 (April: 65.1), indicating continued inflationary pressures on input costs.
The S&P Global Composite PMI for the US in May rose to 53.0 (forecast: 52.1; April: 50.6), signaling a faster pace of expansion in overall business activity. The S&P Global Services PMI also jumped to 53.7 (forecast: 52.3; April: 50.8), underscoring robust growth in the service sector.
The ADP Nonfarm Employment Change for May showed a modest increase of 37K jobs (forecast: 111K; April: 60K), signaling a notable slowdown in private sector hiring.
The MBA 30-year mortgage rate ticked down to 6.92% (previous: 6.98%), yet overall application activity softened. Weekly mortgage applications fell by 3.9% (previous: –1.2%). The MBA Purchase Index declined to 155.0 (previous: 162.1), while the Mortgage Market Index dropped to 226.4 (previous: 235.7). The Mortgage Refinance Index also eased to 611.8 (previous: 634.1), reflecting reduced refinancing demand amid still-elevated borrowing costs.
The IBD/TIPP Economic Optimism Index rose to 49.2 in June, above the 49.1 forecast and up from May’s 47.9, suggesting a modest improvement in household and business sentiment.
JOLTS job openings rose to 7.391 million in April, above the 7.110 million forecast and up from 7.200 million in March, indicating a still‐tight labor market albeit slightly easing from prior levels.
Factory orders tumbled 3.7% MoM in April—worse than the 3.1% drop forecast and reversing a 3.4% gain—highlighting a sharp pullback in manufacturing demand. Excluding transportation, orders fell 0.5% MoM, missing the 0.2% expected and matching the prior month’s decline, underscoring weakness beyond vehicle-related spending.
Durables excluding defense plunged 7.5% month-on-month in April—matching both the forecast and the prior reading—underscoring a sharp pullback once defense orders are stripped out. In contrast, durables excluding transport edged up 0.2% MoM, in line with expectations, signalling that non-transport capital spending held modestly firm despite the broader slump.
Redbook same-store sales rose 4.9% year-on-year, down from 6.1%, signaling a cooling in consumer spending trends.
The Atlanta Fed’s GDPNow model now forecasts Q2 real GDP growth at 4.6%, well above the 3.8% consensus and matching the prior estimate of 3.8%, suggesting stronger early‐quarter momentum than expected.
ISM Manufacturing PMI fell to 48.5 in May, below the 49.3 forecast and down from April’s 48.7, signalling continued contraction. The Employment index eased to 46.8 from 46.5, while New Orders rose slightly to 47.6 (from 47.2), though still in contraction. Prices Paid cooled to 69.4 from 70.2, indicating slightly less cost pressure.