By Michael S. Derby

NEW YORK (Reuters) -Business activity continued to soften in the Federal Reserve Bank of New York's district during May, according to its latest Empire State Manufacturing Survey, released Thursday.

The general business conditions index stood at -9.2 in May from April's -8.1, the third straight month of declining activity, the report said. The firms remained "pessimistic" about the outlook, the regional Fed bank also said in its report.

The report found improvement in new orders and shipping and lost ground on hiring in May, with mixed findings on the inflation front. The regional Fed bank noted that the prices paid index, at 59.0 from April's 50.8%, was the highest in more than two years.