RICHMOND, Va., April 23 (UPI) -- The Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond, Va., said Central Atlantic manufacturing pulled back in April and optimism among businesses waned in the month.
For the region, the manufacturing index dropped from three to minus six. The shipments index dropped from eight to minus nine and the volume of new orders index dropped from minus four to minus eight.
The backlog of orders index also fell, dropping from minus 14 to minus 21.
Two out of three employment indexes remained positive. The index covering the number of employees fell from nine to three and the index measuring wages rose from four to 112. But the index measuring the number of hours worked dropped from a positive 10 to minus three.
The indexes for expectations also dropped. The index of expected shipments fell six points to 25. The index for employment plans dropped 16 points to zero.
The index gauging expectations for the average workweek dropped 13 points to minus two. But the index for wage expectations gained five points to 30, the Fed said.
