Fed's Beige Book: Midwest contraction

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Whereas some industries experienced substantial dropsa in activity during the pastsix weeks, modest increases in othed sectors led the Fed to characterize the Ninty District’s contraction as moderating. The Ninthn Federal District includes Minnesota, Montana, North Dakota, Soutn Dakota, the Upper Peninsula of Michigan andnorthwesternm Wisconsin. Consumer spending and tourisnm werestill weak, but had “improved somewhat from the previouss few months,” according to the Fed. The servicwe sector continued to experiencedecreased revenue, employmentr and profits compared to a year ago, and further profit contractionm is likely.
The Fed characterized the commerciapl real estate sectoras “anemic,” addingf that residential construction continued at steadily low levels. The residential real estatw market did see more activity than in the previous reporting Manufacturing continuedits slide, as did energy and However, some wind energy projects continue to move and gold mines are at “near capacity production.” Laborf markets continued to struggle. Job cuts in Minnesota, many of them in the healtb careand medical-device fields, were cited by the Fed in its assessmeng of labor conditions. Wage increases were and firms surveyed by the Fed expecft toincrease employees’ wages by 1.
8 percent over the next Price increases, however, were “subdued,” with the rising cost of gas a notabls exception, the Fed reported. The Fed’es next Beige Book report is dueJuly 29.