Texas economy a mixed bag: Service sector grows; factory activity slows
Mixed bag for Texas economy: Factory activity is down, while service sector rebounds
Lori Hawkins
Austin American-Statesman
https://www.statesman.com/story/business...paign=statesman


Pake Stephens wraps purchases at Art for the People Gallery in South Austin. The Texas service sector rebounded in January, but the retail outlook worsened, according to new surveys from the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas.

The Texas economy is once again a mixed bag: The state's factory activity slowed in January, and its retail outlook worsened, but its service sector rebounded, according to new data from the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas.

Productivity declined and demand for new orders remained anemic in the state's manufacturing sector, according to business executives responding to the Texas Manufacturing Survey Outlook.

“The manufacturing sector in Texas continues to oscillate between below-average growth and no growth, while avoiding outright contraction despite several months of declining orders,” said Emily Kerr, senior business economist at the Dallas Fed.

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On the positive side, "the employment index remains a bright spot, moving up in January and continuing to signal above-average hiring," Kerr said.

The anonymous Dallas Fed surveys received feedback from 417 manufacturing executives Jan. 17-25.

Based on responses, the January index for general business activity, which measures broader business conditions, remained negative but moved up 12 points to minus 8.4

The new orders index was negative for the eighth month in a row — suggesting a continued decrease in demand — though it moved up from minus 11 to minus 4.

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Hiring challenges, supply chain issues

Companies trying to hire workers are still facing challenges.

“A majority of Texas firms continue to report they are understaffed and note that a lack of applicants is the primary hiring impediment,” Kerr said. “When asked how the availability of applicants has changed over the past month, more firms noted an improvement than a worsening for the first time since we first began asking this question in June 2021. So we’re perhaps starting to see some signs of relief in labor market tightness.” -- excerpt, rest at link above --

Quote: Sanguine wrote in post #1

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The new orders index was negative for the eighth month in a row — suggesting a continued decrease in demand...

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