Orders to U.S. factories for big-ticket manufactured goods surged in April, propelled by a rebound in demand for commercial aircraft.

The Commerce Department reported today that demand for durable goods increased 2.9 percent last month. It was the best showing in three months and more than double the 1.3 percent gain expected. Excluding transportation, orders fell 1 percent after posting a sizable 4.8 percent rise in March.

A durable good is a product expected to last at least three years.

The big rise in overall orders was further evidence that manufacturing is helping to drive the rebound. U.S. companies are benefiting from rising demand both at home and in major export markets. Read the rest of this entry »

Home prices fell in March from the previous month, a sign of a weakening housing market despite historically low mortgage rates and now-expired tax credits.

The Standard & Poor’s/Case-Shiller 20-city home price index released today posted a 0.5 percent drop from February.

Prices in 13 of the 20 cities tracked by the index fell month over month. Only six metro areas recorded price gains. One, Boston, came in flat.

On Monday the National Association of Realtors reported that sales of previously occupied homes rose 7.6 percent in April, boosted by the low mortgage rates and government incentives. But the improvements aren’t likely to last as the tax credit expired on April 30.

In a healthier economy, extraordinarily low mortgage rates would pump up demand for homes. But economists say the job market is too weak and credit is too tight. Read the rest of this entry »

Employers took 1,856 mass layoff actions in April that resulted in the separation of 200,870 workers, seasonally adjusted, as measured by new filings for unemployment insurance benefits during the month, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Each action involved at least 50 persons from a single employer. The number of mass layoff events in April increased by 228 from the prior month, and the number of associated initial claims increased by 50,006. In April, 448 mass layoff events were reported in the manufacturing sector, seasonally adjusted, resulting in 63,616 initial claims.

Nevada’s and Las Vegas’ unemployment rates hit to new records during the month of April, the Nevada Department of Employment, Training and Rehabilitation (DETR) reported today. Click here to read the U.S. Department of Labor’s State Release.

Nevada’s jobless rate now stands at 13.7 percent, while Las Vegas’ jumped to 14.2%, according to the DETR. The national unemployment rate is 9.9 percent, while the only other state to consistently report a higher jobless rate than Nevada, Michigan, announced Thursday that its April rate remains at 14 percent.

According to the report, some of the increase is the result of jobless Nevadans are looking for work: the state’s overall labor force grew every month this year, as workers either exhausted savings and unemployment benefits, or were buoyed because of more upbeat reports about an improving national economic picture. Read the rest of this entry »

Real average hourly earnings for all employees rose 0.1 percent from March to April, seasonally adjusted.  This increase stems from a 0.1 percent decrease in the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U), while average hourly earnings remained unchanged. Real average weekly earnings rose 0.4 percent over the month.