National Employment Trends

The NY based Conference Board's Employment Index showed a slight improvement for May. The Index increased to 89.9 from 89.7 in April for a 0.2% increase. This increase indicates that the pace of unemployment growth is slowing, but not reversing yet. Economists still predict that unemployment will increase above 10% either by year end 2009 or 2010.

Like many other indicators, this suggests that the economy is improving, but slowly. Companies must continue a constant eye on cost reduction and operating efficiencies. A 10% unemployment rate will continue to result in low consumer purchasing power, so revenues will continue to wane on average.

SBA 100% Guarantees

The SBA has announced a new guarantee program designed to support small businesses that are struggling with the current economic situation. That is, a guarantee program offering Zero SBA fees, 100% guarantee, with deferred payments up to $35,000. The program is being called the America's Recovery Capital (ARC) loans, and is part of the Recovery Act.

www.SBA.gov

Housing New Construction Falls

From the Washington Post this morning, permits for new housing has fallen to a record low for April. This news is a mixed bag however, as single family home construction rose 2.8%. The decline was pushed by multifamily construction, which declined by 46%. This decline included the Northeast, South and Midwest, though the Washington DC Metro region may be an outlier in this data.

Washington Post