PHILADELPHIA, March 17 (UPI) -- The Philadelphia Federal Reserve Bank said manufacturing activity in the mid-Atlantic region showed gains for the fourth consecutive month in March.
The bank's monthly survey of businesses taken in the first half of the month showed the leading diffusion index rose from 35.9 in February to 43.4.
The index for new orders, little changed last month, increased 17 points to 40.3. The average employee work week index rose from 12.8 to 13.2. The number of employees index fell from 23.6 to 18.2.
The index for prices paid by manufacturers fell, dropping from 67.2 to 63.8. The index for inventories rose from a barely positive 2.1 to 12.
For the seventh consecutive month more companies indicated they had added to their payrolls in March (25 percent) than had subtracted staff (7 percent), the Philadelphia Fed said.
