Philly Fed To Release Report On Regional Non-Manufacturing Activity

(RTTNews) - In an effort to more fully capture economic activity in its district, the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia announced Thursday that it is launching a new survey to gauge regional activity in the non-manufacturing sector.

The Philly Fed said its research department will release the Nonmanufacturing Business Outlook Survey on Tuesday, September 23rd to complement its existing Manufacturing Business Outlook Survey.

The bank noted that U.S. non-manufacturing is generally not as cyclical as manufacturing but said non-manufacturing firms make up a growing share of the economy in terms of gross domestic product and employment.

Elif Sen, economic analyst at the Philadelphia Fed, said, "The shift from manufacturing to services as the main driver of U.S. economic growth makes nonmanufacturing surveys increasingly valuable for assessing our regional and national economies."

The Philly Fed said the survey will be released at 10 am ET on the Tuesday following the release of the manufacturing survey, which is posted on the third Thursday of each month.

Earlier on Thursday, the Philly Fed released a report showing that its diffusion index for current activity fell to 22.5 in September from a three-year high of 28.0 in August. A positive reading still indicates growth in regional manufacturing activity.

With the notable pullback, the Philly Fed Index came in slightly below economists' consensus estimate for a reading of 23.0.