Plus: Factory Orders Edge Down, Unemployment Rate Falls and Consumers Buy More Cars.

Factory Orders Decrease in February
Following three consecutive monthly increases, new orders for United States manufactured goods fell by 0.1 percent in February, largely due to declining demand for transportation equipment, according to the U.S. Department of Commerce last week. The total value for new orders dropped to $446 billion for the month. Excluding the transportation industry, however, new orders inched upward 0.1 percent.

“As far as orders go, when excluding transportation, there is a noticeable decelerating trend over the last three months,” economics blog Seeking Alpha warns. “The trend shows orders rose only 0.1 percent in February, down from 0.7 percent growth in January, which was down from 3 percent growth in December. That is concerning, and might be more than just a lull.”

New orders for manufactured durable goods, down four of the last five months, fell 0.6 percent to $200.8 billion in February. Transportation equipment had the largest decline, dropping 1.5 percent to $50.4 billion. However, orders for manufactured non-durable goods rose 0.3 percent to $245.2 billion.

Goods shipments, up six consecutive months, also had an uptick in February, rising 0.3 percent to $448.3 billion. Shipments for transportation equipment had the largest increase, climbing 1.4 percent to $49.1 billion. Despite these promising signs, concerns remain over continued drops in capital goods demand, a key indicator for future spending plans.

“The category that measures business investment in capital goods dropped 0.7 percent in February,” the Associated Press reports. “That followed a 5.9 percent fall in January — the biggest in two years. The declines show that businesses are not yet taking advantage of the new tax break approved in December.”

Unemployment Rate Falls to 8.8 Percent
The U.S. private sector added 216,000 jobs last month, pushing the national unemployment rate down to 8.8 percent, a two-year low, and marking a full percentage point of improvement since November, the U.S. Department of Labor reported Friday. The gains point to a gradual but steady recovery in the job market.

“At the current pace of economic growth, it will take years for the rate to return to healthy levels,” the Washington Post notes. “But the numbers released Friday by the Labor Department confirm that a series of upbeat readings on the job market in recent weeks were more than blips and reflected a significant trend.”

The largest gains were in the service-providing industries, led by 78,000 new jobs in professional and business services. Manufacturing employment also continued to rise, adding 17,000 jobs in March, led by the fabricated metal products industry (8,000 jobs) and the machinery industry (5,000 jobs).

Since hitting a low in February 2010, total payroll employment has expanded by 1.5 million, with a significant portion of the gains made in just the last four months, when jobs were added at their fastest four-month pace since 1984. In durable goods manufacturing alone, employment has increased by 243,000 since the industry’s most recent low in December 2009.

“The data suggest the recovery from the deepest recession in generations finally is translating into significant job growth, a welcome sign of momentum in the face of threats from higher oil prices and supply disruptions after the Japanese earthquake,” according to the Wall Street Journal.

Consumers Buy More New Cars in March
Automakers sold 1.25 million new cars and light trucks in March, up 16.9 percent from the same period a year earlier, Autodata Corp. reported Friday. The surge, driven in large part by a small-car boom, put the month’s sales rate at 13.1 million vehicles a year. March was the sixth consecutive month that annualized sales exceeded 12 million vehicles, although sales were down slightly from February’s13.4 million total.

“Chrysler reported sales of 121,730 cars and light trucks in March, an increase of 31 percent from a year ago and its highest monthly total in nearly three years. Nissan nearly matched Chrysler’s total, selling 121,141 new vehicles, thanks to heavy incentives,” the Wall Street Journal reports (subscription required). “Ford sales jumped 19 percent to 212,295, enough to put its monthly total ahead of bigger rival General Motors Co. for only the second time since 1998. GM’s sales increased 10 percent to 206,621. Honda Motor Co. and Hyundai Motor Co. posted 23.5 percent and 31.6 percent gains, respectively.”

Toyota Motor Co. was the only major automaker to suffer a decline in March sales, due largely to weaker truck demand.

Despite reports of production problems following the devastation in Japan last month, consumers aren’t showing signs of fear of upcoming price hikes and supply shortages within the auto industry.

“Production issues are certainly a concern for automakers right now, but consumers aren’t thinking about that yet,” according to Edmunds.com senior analyst Michelle Krebs. “Consumers are most influenced by factors that affect them directly, like safety issues and gas prices. Until there’s a tangible impact on the buying experience, we’re not likely to see any changes in shopping behavior.”

Due to the strength in retail sales so far this year, J.D. Power and Associates has raised its 2011 forecast to 10.6 million units (from 10.5 million units) for retail sales, a 16 percent increase from 2010. J.D. Power’s forecast for total vehicle sales remains at 13 million units, which is up 13 percent from 2010.

Workplace Violence Fell from 1993 to 2009
A newly released publication from the Justice Department Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) shows a decline both of nonfatal violent crimes in the workplace and of workplace homicides over the last 16 years.

Approximately 572,000 nonfatal violent crimes occurred against employees aged 16 and older while they were at work or on duty in 2009, a decline from 2.1 million nonfatal violent crimes at the workplace in 1993, according to the report, titled Workplace Violence, 1993-2009.

Between 2005 and 2009, law enforcement personnel, security guards and bartenders had the highest rates of nonfatal workplace violence. During the same period, strangers committed the greatest proportion of nonfatal workplace violence against males (53 percent) and females (41 percent).

The number of homicides in the workplace decreased by 51 percent from a high of 1,068 homicides in 1993 to 521 homicides in 2009. Erika Harrell, a statistician at the BJS and author of the report, said. Among workplace homicides that occurred between 2005 and 2009, about 28 percent involved victims in sales and related occupations and about 17 percent involved victims in protective service occupations. Shootings accounted for 80 percent of workplace homicides between 2005 and 2009.