IE Business Daily Business news for the Inland Empire.
Manufacturing in the Inland Empire is definitely growing.
The purchasing managers index for June was 53.5, the third consecutive month the index was above 50, according to the Institute of Applied Research and Policy Analysis at Cal State University San Bernardino.
Three consecutive months establishes a trend, and anything 50 or above means a sector is growing, so manufacturing in the Inland region has officially returned to growth mode, said Barbara Sirotnik, the institute’s director.
Production increased to 63.2, up from 62.5 the previous month, and purchasing managers in Riverside and San Bernardino counties are optimistic about the economy’s immediate future: 35 percent said they expect the economy to get stronger during the next quarter while 39 percent said they expect it to stay the same, according to the index, which was released Tuesday.
Only 26 percent said they expect the economy to get weaker during that time, according to the index.
Not all of the news in the June index was good.
New orders dropped from 64.1 to 51.5, and the Inland employment index declined from 51.6 to 47.1. The latter might have happened because some employers were preparing from the state minimum wage hike – from $8 to $9 an hour – that went into effect Tuesday, according to the index.
