Factory orders fall for first time in five months

Two tough reports for the U.S. economy and stock market were released on Friday: September saw the loss of 263,000 jobs, far worse than expected, and factory orders decreased 0.8 percent in August, the U.S. Commerce Department announced. It was the first factory orders decline in five months.

Economists surveyed by Bloomberg News had expected August factory orders to rise 1.0 percent. Factory orders rose a revised 1.4 percent in July.

There was one bright spot, however: excluding the often-volatile transportation component (which includes airplanes and cars), factory orders increased 0.4 percent in August. The ex-transportation index increased 0.3 percent in July.