According to the National Association of Manufacturers’ (NAM) Monday Economic Report for this week, the labor market remains strong but manufacturing job growth has been relatively flat over the last eight months.  With manufacturing sentiment mixed, manufacturers continue to feel the pressures of inflation with rising input prices.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics announced last week that the unemployment rate (4.0%), and the number of unemployed people (6.6 million) changed little in May.  The same report shows that employers added 272,000 new jobs in May, exceeding estimates. The Federal Reserve meets on Wednesday and is expected to indicate whether it will begin to lower interest rates, hold them steady or possibly even raise rates.