The Empire State Manufacturing Survey general business-conditions index registered a reading of -10.7 in November, the fourth straight month that it has been negative.
The index figure improved slightly from October’s -11.4 reading and September’s -14.7, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York reported on Monday.
But readings below zero indicate manufacturing contraction. Also, the index was worse than the -6.5 number that economists had expected, according to Marketwatch.
The survey found that 19 percent of respondents reported that conditions had improved over the last month, while 29 percent said conditions had worsened.
Labor-market conditions continued to deteriorate, with survey indicators pointing to a decline in both employment levels and hours worked, according to the survey.
The New York Fed distributes the Empire State Manufacturing Survey on the first day of each month to the same pool of about 200 manufacturing executives in New York. On average, about 100 executives return responses.
Contact Reinhardt at ereinhardt@cnybj.com