More Federal Reserve Districts Report Flat or Declining Economic Activity

The number of Federal Reserve districts reporting flat or declining economic activity rose from five in July to nine in August.

Only three of the 12 districts reported slight growth in economic activity in August, The Federal Reserve said Wednesday (Sept. 4) in a national summary of its August Beige Book.

The districts reporting modest growth during the month were Boston, Chicago and Dallas.

Four districts — New York, St. Louis, Kansas City and San Francisco — reported that their economic activity remained stable.

The other five districts — Philadelphia, Cleveland, Richmond, Atlanta and Minneapolis — said they had seen slight declines.

“District contacts generally expected economic activity to remain stable or to improve somewhat in the coming months, though contacts in three Districts anticipated slight declines,” the summary said.

Employment levels remained steady, according to the summary. Reports of layoffs remained rare, but there were isolated reports of firms filling only necessary positions, reducing hours and shifts, or lowering employment levels through attrition.

“Employers were more selective with their hires and less likely to expand their workforces, citing concerns about demand and an uncertain economic outlook,” the summary said.

Most districts reported that consumer spending inched down, per the summary. Their reports about auto sales varied, with some seeing increases and others saying that sales had slowed because interest rates and vehicle prices remained high.

Most districts said manufacturing activity declined, while they delivered mixed reports about construction and real estate activity, both residential and commercial, according to the summary.

This report comes a day after the Census Bureau said construction spending decreased by 0.3% in July after remaining unchanged in June.

The Census Bureau found that spending on private construction dipped 0.4%, with both residential and nonresidential construction seeing a decline, while public construction inched up 0.1%, driven by gains in commercial, office and power construction.

Another recent report found a slowdown in the labor market. The Bureau of Labor Statistics said Wednesday that the number of job openings in the United States declined to 7.67 million in July, down from 7.91 million in June and 8.81 million a year earlier.

The post More Federal Reserve Districts Report Flat or Declining Economic Activity appeared first on PYMNTS.com.