Economic Growth Remains Soft in November
In November, the Chicago Fed National Activity Index (CFNAI) remained below zero for a fourth consecutive month. The monthly index came in at –0.51 in November, an improvement from –0.73 in October. Weak employment-related data made a substantial negative contribution to the November index. Persistent weakness in the monthly index left the November three-month moving average index, CFNAI-MA3, essentially unchanged at –0.57. Since the most recent business cycle peak in March 2001, the only positive value of the CFNAI-MA3 has been +0.03, which occurred in July 2002.
