The Southeast Michigan Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) for January rose 3.5 points to 55.3, indicating faster growth in the Southeast Michigan economy. The increase was driven by new orders and by higher employment.
Values above 50 indicate an expanding economy.
New orders were up 10.4 points from December to a level of 58.9. Employment went up from 53.2 to 55.4, and the production component of index went from 54.5 to 55.4.
"We are not only finding relative stability and growth in the overall index, but the employment index appears to be stabilizing, as well," said Nitin Paranjpe, a supply-chain faculty member in the Wayne State University School of Business Administration.
"In the automotive sector, demand for engineers and other professionals is reportedly high, and wages for information technology-contingent labor are going up," he said. "Many commodity prices are increasing with demand, but decreasing energy prices are providing a boost to the economy."
Purchasing managers were mildly optimistic the overall business environment will improve locally over the next six months — 10.7 percent said they expect things to improve, 82.1 percent said they'd stay the same, and 7.1 percent said they'd be less stable.
The index is a research partnership between the School of Business Administration and the Institute for Supply Management-Southeast Michigan.