ISM-New York July 2011 Report On Business at 57.2

July 29, 2011 - PRLog -- New York City business activity bounced off a two-year low, according to the survey taken by the Institute for Supply Management-New York (ISM-NY).

The Current Business Conditions index rose to 57.2 in July from a revised 52.3 in June. Future optimism also rebounded somewhat from a two-year low. The Six-Month Outlook index increased to 63.2 in July from a revised 53.9 in June. However, purchase volume was cut for the second month in a row, the longest losing streak in nearly two years.

The Quantity of Purchases index fell to 45.5 in July from a revised 48.9 in June. And layoffs are becoming more prevalent. The Employment index dropped to 46.6 in July from a revised 47.8 in June. This marked the first back-to-back contractions in almost two years. The July level was the lowest since October 2009. Price/cost pressures picked up again after last month’s first outright decline in six months. The Prices Paid index rose to 61.4 in July from a revised 46.7 in June.

Business impediments had a more neutral feel, with half of respondents saying “No difficulties.” Both working capital shortages and skilled labor shortages declined relative to last month, but the former exceeded the latter for the second straight month.

July’s Question of the Month: What are your firm's plans for worker compensation during the next 6 months? This year, plans to raise comp slightly outweighed plans to lower comp. But this is a mixed picture compared to last year’s decidedly positive profile when plans to lower comp were absent.

For more information, visit www.ismny.org.

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ISM-New York is a not-for profit association that exists to educate, develop, & advance the purchasing & supply management profession. Members of ISM-New York are recognized as world-class professionals from small, medium & large organizations in NYC.