U.S. private sector adds the most jobs in eight months

[mathematic]

16. The index measures growth/contraction, not levels

A measure of manufacturing activity is a measure of manufacturing (obviously, I suppose, and I don't know why you would characterize what I said that way). It's just not a measure that many people think it is. It's not a measure of levels it's a measure of trend.

Hypothetically, if manufacturing declined 1% and then started growing 2% a year for 10 years and then declined 1% again it would be absolutely correct to say "manufacturing activity hasn't declined this much in 10 years" and absolutely incorrect to say "manufacturing is at a 10 year low". In this hypothetical scenario, manufacturing is about 20% higher now than it was 10 years ago.

Here's the actual ISM release, for reference.

Economic activity in the manufacturing sector contracted in December, and the overall economy grew for the 128th consecutive month, say the nation's supply executives in the latest Manufacturing ISM® Report On Business®.

https://www.instituteforsupplymanagement.org/ismreport/mfgrob.cfm?SSO=1