Note the index has been increasing since October -- that's almost a years worth of increases. In other words, there is a strong trend to this particular index.
Here is a link to the report.
The report always has representative quotes from various industries that show underlying trends. Here are the quotes from the latest report:
- "Sales are very steady and have risen some each month in the past six months. The bottom is now here." (Construction)
- "Economic recovery turnaround has begun in the financial services sector; however, cautious expense management is still practiced." (Finance & Insurance)
- "Lack of capital available for new project development." (Accommodation & Food Services)
- "Continue to see signs of slow recovery, but customers are still putting orders off until the beginning of 2010." (Professional, Scientific & Technical Services)
- "Inconsistent ... just when things seem to be settling a bit, a new set of pressures develops." (Retail Trade)
- "Improvements seen in prices available for natural gas and other fuels." (Educational Services)
Construction, professional and financial service quotes are consistent with an improving picture. Retail is showing problems, but that is to be expected. We're also seeing signs that banks are still reluctant to make loans right now.
This is another piece of data that shows the economy is coming out of the recession.
A commenter made a good point regarding word choice. The index has printed a positive number for the first time in a year. I used the word "increasing" to describe the path of the index. A better word choice would have been something like "decreasing at a slower rate."
