R.I.’s leading economic indicators continue to rise in July

AFTER A DROP IN THE RATE OF INCREASE in June, the Providence Business News/e-forecasting.com Leading Economic Indicator Index rose to 122.6 in July. / COURTESY E-FORECASTING.COM
AFTER A DROP IN THE RATE OF INCREASE in June, the Providence Business News/e-forecasting.com Leading Economic Indicator Index rose to 122.6 in July. / COURTESY E-FORECASTING.COM

PROVIDENCE – An index of Rhode Island’s leading economic indicators produced by Providence Business News and e-forecasting.com rose 0.6 percent in July to 122.6 from 121.9 in June.

A reading of 100 on the Providence Business News/e-forecasting.com Leading Economic Indicator Index is equivalent to the state’s activity in 2000.

The state leading indicator increase of 0.6 percent in July showed rising growth for the state, which registered an increase of 0.2 percent in June.

The economic-indicator index uses nine statistics to forecast the direction of the state’s economy over the next three to six months. Positive numbers signal growth while negative numbers denote contraction.

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Seven of the nine components made a positive contribution to Rhode Island’s economy in July, including: unemployment claims, weekly hours in manufacturing, exports of manufactures, regional consumer expectations, national stock prices, the interest rate spread and the national orders index.

Two of the components made a negative contribution to index in July, including: building permits and the state employment barometer.

In July, Rhode Island’s six-month growth rate – “a signal of turning points” – was 3 percent, edging up from June’s revised 2.3 percent rate.

By comparison, the long-term annual growth rate for the index was 2 percent, the same as the annual growth rate of the state’s overall economic activity.

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  1. For a more detailed explanation of the unemployment situation; Go to http://www.bls.gov/news.release/empsit.t15.htm Note that the National ” U6 ” level of unemployment for AUGUST 2013 is THIRTEEN POINT SEVEN PER CENT…(13.7%)…(R.I. is HIGHER>>>) Also;go to http://www.bls.gov/lau/stalt.htm Scroll down to “Rhode Island ” U6 Unemployment rate; Second Quarter (April-June) 2013:FIFTEEN POINT NINE PER CENT (15.9%)….