«The coincident indices combine four state-level indicators to summarise current economic conditions in a single statistic. The four state-level variables in each coincident index are non-farm payroll employment, average hours worked in manufacturing, the unemployment rate, and wage and salary payments adjusted for the consumer price index (U.S. city average). The trend for each state’s index is aligned with the trend in its gross domestic product (GDP), so that long-term growth in the state’s index matches long-term growth in its GDP.»
If you’d like to look further back at the monthly maps, you can view all the historical ones here. But to give you an idea, the following chart is from just a year ago:
A picture of such widespread declines in this index demonstrates that the misnamed ‘recession’ is in fact a full-blown Depression. If we review the macroeconomic charts for any sector – including those covering periods of recession – and interpret them in the context of a prolonged depression, the foreseeable economic and social deterioration is overwhelming.
We may be facing a new stock market crash that could see new lows; there is no shortage of reasons for this. The ground had given way beneath the financial system’s feet, but the Systemic Thaw It’s obvious. Perhaps the reclamation of that land beneath our feet This may be a good reason for optimism in the equity markets and for society as a whole, but even so, a chasm seems to be opening up on the ground winding staircase into the darkest economic and social dungeons.
Last-minute off-topic comment: It’s a shame that, just hours after the Air France Airbus crash, Boeing’s shares rose by 5% at the opening bell… I suppose that’s just part of the ethics of money.