U.S. manufacturing activity continued to expand in December for the fifth consecutive month, though at a slowing pace, as factory job growth jumped to a four-month high while new orders for goods fell for the first time in a year amid cooling demand.
A new report released on Dec. 16 by S&P Global shows that the U.S. manufacturing sector output growth remained solid in December with a reading of 53.0. That’s down slightly from November’s 54.4 and the lowest in three months—but well above the threshold of 50 that separates expansion from contraction.
Overall factory activity also expanded in December but at a slower pace than in the prior month, with S&P Global’s headline manufacturing PMI gauge coming in at 51.8, down from November’s 52.2, driven in part by falling sales….