By Dottie Barnes
The stronger-than-usual performance of the West Michigan economy has continued into the opening of the second quarter of 2018, said Brian G. Long, director of Supply Management Research in Grand Valley State University’s Seidman College of Business.
Long surveyed local business leaders and his findings below are based on data collected during the last two weeks of April.
The survey’s index of business improvement (new orders) retreated to +28 from +34. The production index edged lower to +28 from +31. The index of purchases eased to +34 from +37, and the employment index rose to +23 from +19.
“Most capital equipment manufacturers continue to be positive, but there are some exceptions,” said Long. “Local automotive parts producers are still modestly expanding despite the slight downtick for the industry as a whole.”
Long said the office furniture industry is holding steady, but signs indicate the peak for the current business cycle has been reached. He said most industrial distributors reported a good month, much as they have since the beginning of the year.
The latest numbers reported by the Department of Technology, Management and Budget pegged Michigan’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate for March at 4.7 percent. Long said from March 2017 to March 2018, payroll jobs in Michigan increased by 61,000 or 1.4 percent. The estimated unemployment rates range between 3.2 percent for Ottawa County to 4.2 percent in Barry County, all well below the state average.
The national U-6 unemployment rate, which includes various discouraged and marginally attached workers, has now fallen to a 17-year low of 7.8 percent.
The Institute for Supply Management survey is a monthly survey of business conditions that includes 45 purchasing managers in the greater Grand Rapids area and 25 in Kalamazoo. The respondents are from the region’s major industrial manufacturers, distributors and industrial service organizations. It is patterned after a nationwide survey conducted by the Institute for Supply Management. Each month, the respondents are asked to rate eight factors as “same,” “up” or “down.”
