Orders for factory goods made their largest gains since 1992 last month, jumping 6 percent.

Even without the big rise in military orders, demand for factory goods rose 3.2 percent in February.

A rise in orders for factory goods often indicates increased manufacturing production and employment.

New orders for long-lasting factory goods rose 1.4 percent in April, the fourth straight monthly advance.

Orders for big-ticket factory goods shot up 3.9 percent in October, the best gain in more than a year.

Orders for factory goods fell 2.8 percent in March, the fifth straight decline, the Government said.

A separate report today showed that new orders for factory goods fell nine-tenths of a percent in November.

New orders for factory goods fell 2.3 percent in July, the first decline since February.

Earlier this week, the Government announced a hefty jump in orders for long-lasting factory goods.

One was last week's report of very strong orders for long-lived factory goods in July.