Tracking the Economy: Economy Kept Hearty Pace Last Month Despite Slight Slip, Purchasers Report
NEW YORK -- The economy maintained a hearty pace in November, though it slipped slightly from the previous month's surprisingly robust level, the nation's purchasing managers said.</br></br>The latest monthly survey by the National Association of Purchasing Management found that production and new order rates slowed from the previous month, but employment rose at the strongest rate in the past 12 months.</br></br>"November's robust showing underscores the strength remaining in the economy as it entered the seventh year of recovery," said Robert J. Bretz, chairman of the group's national business survey committee.</br></br>Coming on the heels of the Labor Department's unexpectedly strong November job growth report on Friday, the purchasers' survey could exacerbate concern that the economy isn't cooling down as neatly or as notably as many economists thought. A too-strong economy raises worries that the Federal Reserve Board may curb credit in an effort to head off worrisome inflation.</br></br>The economy has been giving some mixed signals lately, and the purchasers' report also contains some disparate views. Mr. Bretz noted that the survey displayed "some signs of softening, particularly in the export order growth rate." But he added that "the continued healthy level of new orders, combined with a solid downtrend in the inflation rate, virtually assures a strong fourth quarter."