Texas Manufacturing Survey Steady

The Dallas Fed today released its report on Texas manufacturing, indicating that the activity level in February was equal to that in January. The current state of manufacturing, as indicated by other measures on the survey, appears to be steady, but new orders fell from a reading of +5.8 to zero, indicating that demand in the state has stalled.

Given today’s remarks by Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke (our coverage here), it is interesting to note what the Dallas Fed has to say about labor:

Labor market indicators reflected higher labor demand. Strong employment growth continued in March, although the index edged down from 25.2 to 21.7. Twenty-nine percent of firms reported hiring new workers, while 7 percent reported layoffs. The hours worked index continued to suggest average workweeks lengthened.

The survey also indicated that expectations for future economic activity are positive. The Dallas Fed press release is available here.