DALLAS, March 30, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Comerica Bank's California Economic Activity Index grew in January, increasing 0.3 percentage point to a level of 121.3. January's reading is 37 points, or 44 percent, above the index cyclical low of 84.1. The index averaged 119.9 points for all of 2015, six and two-fifths points above the average for all of 2014. December's index reading was 121.0.

"Our California Economic Activity Index increased again in January, marking the fourth consecutive monthly gain, and counteracting the small losses from last summer. Four index components were positive for the month, including payroll jobs, housing starts, house prices and hotel occupancy. The four declining components were state exports, initial claims for unemployment insurance (inverted), defense spending and the NASDAQ 100 stock price index," said Robert Dye, Chief Economist at Comerica Bank. "The state's recent move to increase the minimum wage to $15 per hour by 2020 is not expected to be a significant drag on economic activity this year."

The California Economic Activity Index consists of eight variables, as follows: nonfarm payrolls, exports, hotel occupancy rates, continuing claims for unemployment insurance, housing starts, national defense spending, home prices, and the NASDAQ-100-Technology Sector Index (NDXT). All data are seasonally adjusted, as necessary, and indexed to a base year of 2008. Nominal values have been converted to constant dollar values. Index levels are expressed in terms of three-month moving averages.

Comerica Bank, with 103 banking centers in the key California markets of San Francisco and the East Bay, San Jose, Los Angeles, Orange County, San Diego, Fresno, Sacramento, Santa Cruz/Monterey, and the Inland Empire, is a subsidiary of Comerica Incorporated (NYSE: CMA). Comerica is a financial services company headquartered in Dallas, Texas, and strategically aligned into three major business segments: the Business Bank, the Retail Bank, and Wealth Management. Comerica focuses on relationships and helping businesses and people be successful.

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SOURCE Comerica Bank