Fed's Beige Book: Majority of Fed districts described labor markets as tight
|According to the Federal Reserve’s Beige Book about the state of the economy, based on information collected before January 9th (2017), the U.S. economy continued to expand at a modest pace across most regions from late November through the end of 2016.
Key headlines (via Reuters):
- Firms across the country and industries were "optimistic about growth in 2017"
- Manufacturers in most districts reported increased sales, several cited a turnaround versus earlier in 2016
- Most Fed districts indicated wages increased modestly and wage pressures had increased
- Many districts said contacts expected labor markets to continue to tighten in 2017, with wage pressures likely to rise and hiring pace to hold steady or increase
- Pricing pressures "intensified somewhat" since last report; increases in input costs were more widespread than increases in final goods prices
- Most districts said non-auto retail sales had expanded but retailer selling prices were flat or down amidst competitive discounting
- Beige Book prepared by Federal Reserve Bank of Boston with data collected on or before Jan. 9
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