Business activity continued to decline in New York State, according to firms responding to the October 2016 Empire State Manufacturing Survey.

The headline general business conditions index slipped five points to -6.8. The new orders index edged up but remained negative at -5.6, indicating an ongoing drop in orders, and the shipments index increased to -0.6, suggesting that shipments were essentially flat.

Labor market conditions remained weak, with both employment levels and the average workweek reported as lower.

Price indexes increased somewhat, and continued to signal moderate input price increases and a slight increase in selling prices. Indexes for the six-month outlook suggested that manufacturing firms expect conditions to improve in the months ahead.