Foreign Trade Information | Nearly 4,000 people in the United States lost their jobs due to AI in May; PPI data in the Eurozone dropped sharply!

NO.1, U.S. non-manufacturing PMI nearly stagnated in May

The U.S. services sector came to a near standstill in May as business activity and orders fell, and the non-manufacturing PMI fell to a low.

According to published data, the US ISM non-manufacturing PMI fell to 50.3 in May from 51.9 in April, the lowest level this year.

A gauge of business activity also fell for the fourth straight month, a drop that, along with a drop in orders, suggested service providers were experiencing sluggish demand.

NO.2. In May, nearly 4,000 people lost their jobs due to AI in the United States

According to reports, domestic employers in the United States laid off more than 80,000 workers in May, an increase of 20% from the previous month and a nearly four-fold increase from the same period last year.

Among them, artificial intelligence caused 3,900 job losses, accounting for about 5% of all unemployed people, and became the seventh largest reason for layoffs mentioned by employers in May.

It is understood that these positions involve creative, administrative and clerical fields.

NO.3, the United States may become South Korea's largest export market

Recently, data released by South Korea’s Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy showed that in the first quarter of this year, South Korea’s trade surplus with the United States was US.2 billion, making the United States the country with the largest trade surplus in South Korea.

In terms of the categories of South Korea’s export products to the United States, petroleum products (30.5%), petrochemicals (24.7%), steel (26.6%), auto parts (16.2%), secondary batteries (50.0%), plastic products (15.9%) ) and other 7 items all increased in export value.

NO.4, PPI data in the euro zone dropped sharply

In April this year, PPI data in the euro zone dropped sharply again, recording -3.2%.

In detail, a large part of the month's decline came from energy, which fell by 10.1%, and intermediate goods also fell, recording -0.6%.

In addition, price pressures have generally declined due to weaker demand, looser supply chains and lower commodity prices.

NO.5. The South African economy grew by 0.4% in the first quarter

According to data released by Statistics South Africa on June 6, the GDP of South Africa in the first quarter of this year increased by 0.4% month-on-month. Manufacturing, finance, real estate and business services are the main factors driving economic growth.

Statistics South Africa issued a statement on its official website saying that among the 10 industries covered by the statistical data, 8 industries including manufacturing, construction, mining, finance and real estate achieved growth; the agriculture, forestry, fishery and electrical industries declined.

In addition, the foreign trade industry also promoted economic growth in the first quarter, of which exports of goods and services increased by 4.1% and imports of goods and services increased by 4.4% from the previous quarter.