Earlier from the NY Fed: Empire State Manufacturing Survey
Business activity continued to expand in New York State, according to firms responding to the February 2018 Empire State Manufacturing Survey. The headline general business conditions index fell five points to 13.1, suggesting a somewhat slower pace of growth than in January. … Labor market conditions pointed to a modest increase in employment and hours worked.
And from the Philly Fed: February 2018 Manufacturing Business Outlook Survey
Results from the Manufacturing Business Outlook Survey suggest that the region’s manufacturing sector continues to expand in February. … The index for current manufacturing activity increased 4 points in February to a reading of 25.8. … The survey’s indicators for labor market conditions suggest a pickup in hiring this month. Over 30 percent of the firms reported increases in employment this month, up from 24 percent in January. The employment index increased 8 points. The firms also reported overall higher average work hours in February, although the workweek index fell 3 points to 13.7.
emphasis added
Here is a graph comparing the regional Fed surveys and the ISM manufacturing index:
Click on graph for larger image.
The New York and Philly Fed surveys are averaged together (yellow, through February), and five Fed surveys are averaged (blue, through January) including New York, Philly, Richmond, Dallas and Kansas City. The Institute for Supply Management (ISM) PMI (red) is through January (right axis).
This suggests the ISM manufacturing index night decrease slightly in February, but still show solid expansion again.