Every $1.00 spent in manufacturing adds another $2.74 to the economy, the highest multiplier effect of any economic sector. In addition, for every worker in manufacturing, another five employees are hired elsewhere. (Source: NAM calculations using 2018 IMPLAN data.) Recent research suggests that manufacturing’s impacts on the economy are even greater when we consider the [...]

March brought the strongest manufacturing growth in more than 37 years, and with it increasing indications about inflation pressures in the months ahead. The Institute for Supply Management’s monthly manufacturing survey registered a 64.7% reading, representing the level of companies reporting expansion against contraction. That translated to a 3.9 percentage point increase from February, and the [...]

The approximately $2.3 trillion plan would provide hundreds of billions of dollars dedicated to building, maintaining and repairing infrastructure like roads, bridges and mass transit. It also has provisions for increasing broadband access, as well as a corporate tax hike to pay for the bill. The details: “Mr. Biden’s proposal includes $621 billion to modernize [...]

The U.S. economy grew 4.3% at the annual rate in the fourth quarter. Overall, real GDP was boosted by business investment, but consumer spending, particularly for goods, was held back by rising COVID-19 cases and renewed restrictions in many areas. The U.S. economy is expected to rebound in 2021, especially as more Americans get vaccinated [...]

Manufacturing production fell 3.1% in February, the largest decline in 10 months, with supply chain disruptions and weather hampering output in the sector for the month. The latest figures represent a pause in progress seen in recent months. Nonetheless, the forecast for manufacturing production suggests solid growth over the coming months, with output in the [...]

The U.S. central bank now sees the economy growing 6.5% this year—predicting the largest annual output growth since 1984—and the unemployment rate falling to 4.5% by year’s end, compared to growth of 4.2% and unemployment of 5% projected at its December policy meeting. The pace of price increases is now expected to exceed the Fed’s [...]

Senator Reed, a Democrat, is the first Rhode Islander to lead the Senate Armed Services Committee. The last two Rhode Islanders to chair full Senate committees were Republican John H. Chafee, who led the Environment and Public Works Committee from 1995 to 1999, and Democrat Claiborne Pell, who led the Foreign Relations Committee from 1987 [...]

In March 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic hit the United States, causing illness, death, and widespread economic devastation. A new issue brief from the Office of Advocacy, “The Effects of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Small Businesses,” examines the effects of COVID-19 on small businesses using the first sets of available economic data. The economic impact of [...]

Authors: Marty Heller, John Polson (Fisher-Phillps) Striking another blow against the Trump-era joint employer rule that briefly created a new and more business-friendly standard to wage and hour compliance, the Department of Labor today proposed rescinding the rule altogether, which would most likely cement into place a broad standard that captures a wide swath of [...]

Manufacturers are working robustly with the Biden administration and Congress to open markets, ensure trade certainty and address challenges overseas, taking actions that include the following: Continuing to monitor the U.S.-China security, trade and economic relationship, and stressing the need for a comprehensive and strategic U.S. approach on China Calling on the Biden administration to [...]