The composite state-of-the-economy index rose by 0.31% in February

The composite state-of-the-economy index rose by 0.31% in February, following a similar rise during 2018. The index was positively affected by an increase in most of its components, particularly exports of goods and consumer goods imports in February, and increases in the index of manufacturing production and in retail and services revenue indices in January. The rate of increase in the index moderated the decline in the number of job vacancies in February. The data on the composite index for previous months were updated upward due to the publication of the data for construction starts in December, which showed an increase in their volume.
Since the CBS stopped publishing monthly data on construction starts, as of July 2016, the method of calculating the component of housing starts in the index was changed, and the change is calculated quarterly and the change (quarterly, percent, seasonally adjusted) is attributed to the last month in the quarter for which it was published.