If you believe the recent ISM manufacturing numbers, which Pat Furey recently highlighted over on Supply Excellence, it appears that the worst might be behind us in the manufacturing sector (except for full-time job seekers, that is). Pat notes, among other things, that the index continues to show a slight rise in overall activity, showing “the 4th consecutive month above 50,” despite a modest decline from October’s numbers. And new orders jumped above 60, which “means that production will have to increase in the following months to close the gap between bookings and inventory levels.” But the employment portion of the index declined to near-contraction territory, hitting 50.8 and providing fuel to the fire for the suggestion that we’re in a jobless recovery. From a manufacturing Spend Management perspective, how should we read into these numbers?
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