The Commerce Department reported factory orders decreased (-0.4%) in November to $586.1B; this follows an upwardly revised October reading. Factory orders are up (+0.1%) year over year. Durable goods orders decreased (-1.2%) to $284.7B from an upwardly revised (+0.7%) with a (-3.0%) decrease to $95.4B; transportation accounted for much of the drop in durable goods orders. When excluding transportation, factory orders increased (+0.2%). Orders for non-durable goods increased (+0.4%) to $301.4B following an upwardly revised (+0.2%). Shipments increased (+0.1%) to $586.3B after three months of declines. Inventories increased (+0.3%) to $859.3B after two consecutive monthly declines. Unfulfilled orders rose (+0.3%) to $1.405 trillion. Orders for non-defense capital goods excluding aircraft, or “core” capital goods, increased (+0.4%) in November, while shipments of core capital goods increased (+0.3%).

The Commerce Department reported a trade deficit of $78.2 billion in November, an increase of $4.6B from a slightly downwardly revised $73.6B in October. Imports increased (+3.4%) to $351.6B, primarily due to significant increases in industrial supplies and capital goods. Exports increased (+2.7%) to $273.4B, primarily due to significant increases in industrial supplies, automotive vehicles & parts, and capital goods​. The goods deficit increased $5.4B to $103.4B, while the services surplus rose $0.9B to $25.2B.  Compared to the same year to date period in 2023, the goods and services deficit has increased by $93.9B or 13.0%. Also, exports have increased by $111.5B, or 4.0%, and imports have increased by $205.3B, or 5.8%. The trade deficit with China edged down to seasonally adjusted $25.4B due to marginal declines in both exports and imports

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported an increase of 256,000 jobs in December, as the unemployment rate remained relatively stable at 4.1%. The number of unemployed decreased (-235,000) to 6.9 million. A year earlier, the unemployment rate was 3.8%, and the number of unemployed was 6.3 million. Health care (+46,000), leisure & hospitality (+43,000), retail trade (+43,000), government (+33,000), and social assistance (+23,000) all saw job increases. There were 1.707 million permanent job losses among the unemployed, a decline of 164,000. The labor force participation was unchanged at 62.5%; it has consistently remained between 62.5% and 62.7% since December 2023. Average hourly earnings grew 0.3%. At $35.69, average hourly earnings are up 3.9% from a year ago. Revisions to the October and November figures showed that 8,000 fewer jobs were added than were initially reported.