{"id":59663,"date":"2022-02-02T16:27:13","date_gmt":"2022-02-02T21:27:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.t3live.com\/blog\/?p=59663"},"modified":"2022-02-08T09:38:43","modified_gmt":"2022-02-08T14:38:43","slug":"top-economic-indicators-for-traders","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.t3live.com\/2022\/02\/02\/top-economic-indicators-for-traders\/","title":{"rendered":"The Top 11 Economic Indicators Traders Need to Know"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Traders are obsessed with economic indicators and data.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Why?<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Because economic numbers move stock prices, commodities prices, options prices, interest rates, and just about everything else you can think of.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">So it\u2019s a good thing the government is always giving us a fix!<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">But which ones should you pay most attention to as a trader?<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Here\u2019s a breakdown of the top 11 indicators that traders like you need to know about.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><strong>11. Homebuilder Sentiment<\/strong><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">From the National Association of Homebuilders<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Released at 8:30 a.m. ET in the third week of the month<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Measures builder confidence about current and future market conditions<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">To judge Homebuilder Sentiment, The National Association of Homebuilders conducts a monthly survey of its members in partnership with Wells Fargo.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The survey asks NAHB members to rate market conditions based on their personal experience.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The questions are centered around the current state of the market, conditions 6 months from now, and the traffic of prospective buyers.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Builders are asked to rank current and future sales conditions as \u201cgood\u201d, \u201cfair\u201d, or \u201cpoor\u201d.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Prospective buyers are rated as \u201chigh to very high\u201d, \u201caverage\u201d, or \u201clow to very low\u201d.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">NAHB seasonally adjusted the number of responses in each category, \u201cGood\/High\u201d or \u201cPoor\/Low\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">They then use this formula: (Good\/High &#8211; Poor\/Low + 100), to calculate the monthly index on a scale from 0 to 100.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">If every response was Good\/High then the index will be 100. If all responses were Poor\/Low it would be 0.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Readings above 50 are considered positive.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This index is a leading indicator for future home construction, since it is based on future expectations.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The market uses this report to gauge how builders themselves are feeling about their future.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">NAHB has conducted the monthly survey since January 1985.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><strong>10. New Home Sales, Starts & Building Permits<\/strong><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">From the U.S. Census Bureau<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Housing Starts and Building Permits report released on the 12th workday of the month at 8:30 a.m. ET<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">New Residential Sales report released on the 17th workday of the month at 10:00 a.m. ET<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Measures pace of new home construction and sales of newly built homes<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Housing starts measure how many new homes builders broke ground on each month. It\u2019s a lagging indicator because it measures past activity.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Building permits measure how many new permits were approved to build homes in the months ahead, making it a leading indicator.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The numbers are reported together\u00a0 by the Census Bureau to measure the health of new home construction.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Housing starts and permits include both single-family homes and multi-family buildings.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Census Bureau also reports new residential sales each month.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This is a measure of how many newly constructed homes were sold the previous month and is a lagging indicator.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The report includes sales data on both single-family homes and multi-family units.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The data is reported at a seasonally adjusted annualized rate in order to avoid large swings based on season.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The new residential sales report includes data on supply (how many units were for sale at the end of the month) as well as prices.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It also breaks down new homes by construction status: not started, under construction, or complete.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This group of reports gives the stock market a measure of the overall health of the new home market.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><strong>9. Existing & Pending Home Sales<\/strong><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">From the National Association of Realtors<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Existing Sales report released in the 3rd week of the month at 8:30 a.m. ET<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Pending Sales report printed in the 4th week of the month at 8:30 a.m. ET<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Measure of existing home sales closed in the previous month and number of contracts signed to purchase a home<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The National Association of Realtors reports existing home sales around the 20th of each month.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This report measures the total number of closed sales in the previous month, making it a lagging indicator.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Sales are reported at a seasonally adjusted annualized rate, which means the numbers are smoothed out to eliminate the impact of seasonal changes.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Home sales are typically faster in summer and slower in winter.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The existing sales report also includes data on supply levels and home prices.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">NAR reports pending home sales in the week after existing sales.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This report is a measurement of the number of contracts signed to purchase a home in the previous month.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Pending Home Sales are a leading indicator for the housing market.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This report typically impacts home building stocks directly.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><strong>8. Retail Sales<\/strong><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">From the U.S. Census Bureau<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Released mid-monthly at 8:30 a.m.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Measure of consumer spending in the U.S.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The retail sales report measures the total amount U.S. consumers spend on goods and services per month in 13 categories:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Motor vehicle & parts dealers<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Furniture & home furnishing retailers<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Electronics and appliances<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Building materials and gardening<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Food and beverage stores<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Health & personal care<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Gasoline<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Clothing and accessories<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Sporting goods, hobby, musical instruments, book store<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">General merchandise<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Miscellaneous retailers<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Nonstore retailers (online)<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Food services and drinking places (restaurants and bars)<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The monthly report includes a headline number, and retail sales excluding auto and gasoline sales.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Auto and gas numbers are considered volatile because prices rise and fall more often than other categories.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Each monthly report also includes revisions for the two months prior.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Retail sales is a lagging indicator, reporting data from the previous month.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The market will typically rise on a good retail sales report and fall with a bad one as it signals the strength of the consumer side of the economy.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><strong>7. GDP<\/strong><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">From the Bureau of Economic Analysis<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Released at 8:30 a.m. ET, typically on the last Thursday of the month<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Measures U.S. economic growth by quarter<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">GDP stands for Gross Domestic Product.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Bureau of Economic Analysis reports GDP on a quarterly basis.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The advanced estimate for each quarter is typically released on the last Thursday of the first month following the conclusion of the quarter. <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The first revision is then printed the following month and the final revision the month after that.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">So for the first calendar quarter ending in March, you would get:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The advance estimate on the last Thursday of April<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The first revision in May<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The final revision in June<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">GDP is a lagging indicator and is used to measure how quickly the economy is expanding or contracting.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">GDP growth is calculated by adding together the value of goods and services produced, and then subtracting the costs to produce them.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Consumer spending is the largest component, accounting for two-thirds of total GDP.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The stock market often falls if GDP comes in lower than expected, as it signals a weak economy.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><strong>6. Personal Income and Outlays<\/strong><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">From the Bureau of Economic Analysis<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Released at 8:30 a.m. ET, typically on the last Friday of the month<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Measures incomes and consumer spending, includes PCE price index as a measure of inflation\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">BEA\u2019s Personal Income and Outlays report includes several key pieces of economic data and is a lagging economic indicator.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Personal income is the sum of net earnings (wages, salaries, social security and other government benefits), transfer payments, dividends, interest, and rental income.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Incomes are compared to the previous month and year to determine the monthly and year-over-year rate of increase or decrease.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The report also includes the personal saving rate which is the amount Americans are saving of their disposable income.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Personal outlays measure how much U.S. consumers spend on durable and non-durable goods and services per month.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The report also includes the Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) price index, which measures inflation.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This index measures the change in price of consumer goods and services for all households and nonprofit institutions serving households in the U.S.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Core PCE price index excludes food and energy prices and is the Federal Reserve\u2019s preferred inflation gauge.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Fed often refers to this as the PCE price deflator.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The PCE Index is the Fed\u2019s preferred inflation measure and can give traders an idea of how the bank might move interest rates.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><strong>5. Producer Price Index<\/strong><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">From the Bureau of Labor Statistics<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Released at 8:30 a.m. ET around the 15th of each month<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Measures change in wholesale prices paid by sellers<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Producer Price Index is a leading indicator that can be used to predict future consumer inflation pressures.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The report measures the change in wholesale prices that sellers pay for goods and services on a monthly and annual basis.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Sellers typically pass those higher prices down to consumers in the future.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The PPI is the oldest U.S. government economic report, dating back to 1902. It was known as the Wholesale Price Index until 1978.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The market typically reacts poorly to high PPI readings because it signals high consumer inflation down the line.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><strong>4. Consumer Price Index<\/strong><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">From the Bureau of Labor Statistics<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Released at 8:30 a.m. ET around the 13th of each month<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Measures change in prices paid by consumers for goods and services<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Consumer Price Index is the most widely known inflation measure in the U.S.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It measures the change in out-of-pocket expenses for all urban households in the U.S. on a monthly and year-over-year basis.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It is a lagging indicator because it measures prices paid in the previous month.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The most important sectors for American consumers are food and energy prices.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The core CPI strips out those two sectors as they can see large swings due to supply and demand.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The core CPI is typically lower than the headline CPI number.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The report has the potential to greatly influence the market as inflation is part of the Fed\u2019s criteria for where to set interest rates.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><strong>3. Weekly Jobless Claims<\/strong><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">From the Department of Labor<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Released at 8:30 a.m. ET every Thursday<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Measures number of new unemployment claims filed each week<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Labor Department releases a weekly estimate of the total number of new unemployment insurance claims filed each week.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The report is a measurement of layoffs, as employees are only eligible to file for unemployment after being let go by their employer.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The 4-week moving average of new claims adds the past 4 weeks together and averages them out. This is seen as a less volatile measurement.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The report also includes continuing claims, which run one week behind the new claims total.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Continuing claims are those who filed an initial claim and then were unemployed for another week and filed another claim for that week.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Weekly jobless claims are a leading indicator, tracking changes in the labor market as they happen.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Unemployment claims hit an all-time high in April 2020 as Covid lockdown orders forced many businesses to shut down.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The market uses weekly jobless claims as a weekly measure of the health of the labor market.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><strong>2. Private Employment Report<\/strong><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">From the ADP Research Institute in collaboration with Moody\u2019s Analytics<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Released at 8:15 a.m. ET on the Wednesday before the Labor Department\u2019s jobs report<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Measures the change in payroll size at U.S. private employers<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The ADP National Employment Report is a measure of hiring in the private sector of the U.S. economy.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">ADP is one of the largest payroll processing firms in the U.S.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The company analyzes their payroll data month to month in order to calculate the net gain or loss of jobs per month.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">That data does not include government jobs.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The private-sector jobs report is a lagging indicator.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This report is released two days ahead of the official jobs report from the government each month.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The market uses it as a preview of what the official report will look like.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><strong>1. Monthly Jobs Report<\/strong><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">From the Department of Labor<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Released at 8:30 a.m. ET on the third Friday after the conclusion of the reference week<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Measures health of the U.S. labor market<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Officially known as the Employment Situation Summary at the Labor Department, this is seen as the \u201cofficial\u201d jobs report each month.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The report is based on a survey conducted by the Labor Department in the week that includes the 12th of the month. <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Based on that schedule, it typically comes out on the first Friday of the new month.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The jobs report is a lagging indicator.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The summary includes nonfarm payrolls \u2013 which measures hiring by U.S. employers \u2013 as well as the unemployment rate, labor force participation rate, and average wages.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Nonfarm payrolls includes all private employees and government employees in the U.S. except farm workers.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This is arguably the most important economic indicator for Wall Street each month.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A bad jobs report can directly cause the stock market to fall, as it signals less Americans are working and therefore less money is available for spending.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This report is also key for the Federal Reserve when it comes to interest rates as one part of their mandate is to maintain \u201cmaximum employment.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>What Do You Think?<\/b><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">So did we cover YOUR top economic indicator? What would you add or subtract from this list? Let us know in the comments!<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Traders are obsessed with economic indicators and data. Why? Because economic numbers move stock prices, commodities prices, options prices, interest rates, and just about everything else you can think of. So it\u2019s a good thing the government is always giving us a fix! But which ones should you pay most attention to as a trader? Here\u2019s a breakdown of the top 11 indicators that traders like you need to know about. 11. Homebuilder Sentiment From the National Association of Homebuilders Released at 8:30 a.m. ET in the third week of the month Measures builder confidence about current and future market conditions To judge Homebuilder Sentiment, The National Association of Homebuilders conducts a monthly survey of its members in partnership with Wells Fargo.\u00a0 The survey asks NAHB members to rate market conditions based on their personal experience.\u00a0 The questions are centered around the current state of the market, conditions 6 months from now, and the traffic of prospective buyers.\u00a0 Builders are asked to rank current and future sales conditions as \u201cgood\u201d, \u201cfair\u201d, or \u201cpoor\u201d. Prospective buyers are rated as \u201chigh to very high\u201d, \u201caverage\u201d, or \u201clow to very low\u201d.\u00a0 NAHB seasonally adjusted the number of responses in each category, \u201cGood\/High\u201d or \u201cPoor\/Low\u201d They then use this formula: (Good\/High &#8211; Poor\/Low + 100), to calculate the monthly index on a scale from 0 to 100. If every response was Good\/High then the index will be 100. If all responses were Poor\/Low it would be 0. Readings above 50 are considered positive. This index is a leading indicator for future home construction, since it is based on future expectations. The market uses this report to gauge how builders themselves are feeling about their future.\u00a0 NAHB has conducted the monthly survey since January 1985.\u00a0 10. New Home Sales, Starts &#038; Building Permits From the U.S. Census Bureau Housing Starts and Building Permits report released on the 12th workday of the month at 8:30 a.m. ET New Residential Sales report released on the 17th workday of the month at 10:00 a.m. ET Measures pace of new home construction and sales of newly built homes Housing starts measure how many new homes builders broke ground on each month. It\u2019s a lagging indicator because it measures past activity. Building permits measure how many new permits were approved to build homes in the months ahead, making it a leading indicator.\u00a0 The numbers are reported together\u00a0 by the Census Bureau to measure the health of new home construction.\u00a0 Housing starts and permits include both single-family homes and multi-family buildings.\u00a0 The Census Bureau also reports new residential sales each month.\u00a0 This is a measure of how many newly constructed homes were sold the previous month and is a lagging indicator. The report includes sales data on both single-family homes and multi-family units.\u00a0 The data is reported at a seasonally adjusted annualized rate in order to avoid large swings based on season.\u00a0 The new residential sales report includes data on supply (how many units were for sale at the end of the month) as well as prices.\u00a0 It also breaks down new homes by construction status: not started, under construction, or complete.\u00a0 This group of reports gives the stock market a measure of the overall health of the new home market.\u00a0 9. Existing &#038; Pending Home Sales From the National Association of Realtors Existing Sales report released in the 3rd week of the month at 8:30 a.m. ET Pending Sales report printed in the 4th week of the month at 8:30 a.m. ET Measure of existing home sales closed in the previous month and number of contracts signed to purchase a home The National Association of Realtors reports existing home sales around the 20th of each month. This report measures the total number of closed sales in the previous month, making it a lagging indicator.\u00a0 Sales are reported at a seasonally adjusted annualized rate, which means the numbers are smoothed out to eliminate the impact of seasonal changes. Home sales are typically faster in summer and slower in winter.\u00a0 The existing sales report also includes data on supply levels and home prices.\u00a0\u00a0 NAR reports pending home sales in the week after existing sales.\u00a0 This report is a measurement of the number of contracts signed to purchase a home in the previous month.\u00a0 Pending Home Sales are a leading indicator for the housing market. This report typically impacts home building stocks directly.\u00a0 8. Retail Sales From the U.S. Census Bureau Released mid-monthly at 8:30 a.m.\u00a0 Measure of consumer spending in the U.S.\u00a0 The retail sales report measures the total amount U.S. consumers spend on goods and services per month in 13 categories: Motor vehicle &#038; parts dealers Furniture &#038; home furnishing retailers Electronics and appliances Building materials and gardening Food and beverage stores Health &#038; personal care Gasoline Clothing and accessories Sporting goods, hobby, musical instruments, book store General merchandise Miscellaneous retailers Nonstore retailers (online) Food services and drinking places (restaurants and bars) The monthly report includes a headline number, and retail sales excluding auto and gasoline sales.\u00a0 Auto and gas numbers are considered volatile because prices rise and fall more often than other categories. Each monthly report also includes revisions for the two months prior.\u00a0 Retail sales is a lagging indicator, reporting data from the previous month. The market will typically rise on a good retail sales report and fall with a bad one as it signals the strength of the consumer side of the economy. 7. GDP From the Bureau of Economic Analysis Released at 8:30 a.m. ET, typically on the last Thursday of the month Measures U.S. economic growth by quarter GDP stands for Gross Domestic Product.\u00a0 The Bureau of Economic Analysis reports GDP on a quarterly basis.\u00a0 The advanced estimate for each quarter is typically released on the last Thursday of the first month following the conclusion of the quarter. The first revision is then printed the following month and the final revision the month after that.\u00a0 So for the first calendar quarter ending in March, you<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":41,"featured_media":59665,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-59663","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-articles"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.t3live.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/59663","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.t3live.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.t3live.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.t3live.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/41"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.t3live.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=59663"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/blog.t3live.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/59663\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":59667,"href":"https:\/\/blog.t3live.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/59663\/revisions\/59667"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.t3live.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/59665"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.t3live.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=59663"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.t3live.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=59663"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.t3live.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=59663"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}