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.
