Jobless Claims
Initial jobless claims for the week ending April 2 fell to 382,000, a decrease of 10,000 from the prior week. The four week moving average declined by just under 6,000 to 389,500.  Continuing claims fell 9,000 to 3.72 million, while the four week moving average for continuing claims fell 24,000 to 3.75 million.  The insured unemployment rate was unchanged at 3.0 percent. Going forward, jobless claims should continue to decrease at a moderate pace and will hopefully stabilize around 350,000 in the middle of this year.  

ISM Nonmanufacturing Index
In March, the Institute for Supply Management’s nonmanufacturing index declined to 57.3 from 59.7 in February. The index remains well above the threshold of 50 for an expanding economy. Moreover, all of the components of the index were above 50 as well. Although survey respondents indicated that business activity has slowed a bit from February, several components did increase, which bodes well for future production. Overall, this reading is consistent with an economy that is improving and follows an even stronger report on the manufacturing sector. 

Consumer Credit
In February total consumer credit grew 3.8% at an annual rate, or $7.6 billion, to a total of $2.42 trillion. The rise in consumer credit was due to an increase in non-revolving credit, which offset another decline in revolving credit. Revolving credit fell 4.1% at an annual rate to $794 billion, after decreasing at a 5.9% rate in January. Non-revolving credit increased at a 7.7% annual rate after increasing at a 6.2% pace in the previous month. Consumer demand picked up a bit in February, reflecting growing demand for new vehicles and retail sales, but consumers are continuing to pay down their credit card debt.