(The Center Square) Anyone looking for good news about the N.Y. economy would have found little from a report issued this week by the N.Y. Federal Reserve.
Its Empire State Manufacturing Survey for Aug. reported the second-steepest decline in its history as the general business conditions index dropped to -31.3.
The only time the index had a worse drop than this month’s 42.4-point freefall came at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The survey, conducted Aug. 2-9, asks respondents whether general business conditions are improving or worsening. They also ask questions about new orders, shipments, unfilled orders, delivery time, inventories, pricing information and workforce.
Only 12.2% of businesses surveyed said their operations were improving, while 43.6% said theirs were declining. In July, 33.6% said their businesses were improving, compared to 22.6% who said theirs were in decline.
In addition, 46.1% said their companies reported fewer orders, and 39.5% said their shipments declined.
The Aug. shipment responses were nearly inversed from July when 39.9% reported shipments going up, and only 14.5% said they were going down. The net change from month to month was -49.4 points.
Fewer companies also reported increases in employment or their workers putting in more hours. The employment index came in at 7.4, down from 18 in July, while the hours worked index fell more than 17 points to -13.1.
The survey’s questions about the future brought about mixed results.
More companies believe orders will increase over the next six months. The future orders index rose 14 points to 14, thanks to 41% believing more orders are coming. And the shipments index rose by 11.5 points to 18.7 in Aug.
Companies also believe they will hire more workers over the next six months. The survey found that 38% said they would be filling new positions, and the index of 30 was 7.5 points higher than in July.
But companies believe those workers will be clocking fewer hours. With 19.1% saying their workforce will have reduced hours, the Aug. index of -10.9 was 1.3 points lower than July.
U.S. Rep. Lee Zeldin, the Long Island Republican opposing Gov. Kathy Hochul in the Nov. election, seized upon the survey’s findings. He slammed the “one-party” Democratic agenda that he claimed has led to a harsher business climate.
“This month’s survey is yet another indication that [N.Y.] cannot continue down this path spearheaded by Kathy Hochul and her far-left allies. New Yorkers across the board are struggling. Costs are skyrocketing with inflation at a 40-year high, and labor is hard to find,” Zeldin said in a statement.
“It’s no wonder these businesses are reaching their breaking point. If we do not start addressing New York’s problems, our state will only continue down this path, and our economy will continue to suffer greatly.”
