03:22 PM EDT, 04/15/2024 (MT Newswires) -- New York manufacturing activity improved less than expected into shallower contraction territory this month as shipments declined sharply, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York said Monday.

The Empire State Manufacturing Survey's general business conditions index ticked up to negative 14.3 in April from negative 20.9 in March. The consensus was for a bigger improvement to a negative 5.2 print in a survey compiled by Bloomberg.

"Manufacturing activity continued to contract in New York State in April, and employment continued to decline," said Richard Deitz, economic research adviser at the New York Fed. "Optimism about the outlook for future business conditions remained subdued."

New orders moved up a point at negative 16.2 while shipments moved down 7.5 points to negative 14.4. "New orders and shipments both declined significantly, and unfilled orders continued to shrink," the Fed branch wrote.

The component measuring number of employees increased two points but remained below zero at negative 5.1. Prices paid rose five points to 33.7 while prices received dipped 0.9 points to 16.9, the April 2-9 survey showed.

Six months out, "the outlook remained subdued" with the index for general business conditions dipping to 16.7 from 21.6 month to month, the regional Fed said. The index measuring future new orders tumbled 11.4 points to 17.9 while future shipments fell 11.9 points to 21.8.

Expectations about the labor market soured, with the employment component falling 13.8 points to 4.5 and average workweek swinging into contraction territory.

Price paid six months from now moved 4.8 points higher to 40.4 while the index for prices received slid 3.5 points to 29.2. "The capital spending index fell to 6.7, suggesting that capital spending plans remained soft," the New York Fed wrote.