FRB March 4, 2015 Beige Book on Employment, Wages, and Prices

Employment, Wages, and Prices

Employment levels remained stable or continued to grow in most Districts and across a variety of sectors. Contacts in several Districts noted strong labor demand and challenges filling a variety of skilled positions. Firms in the Philadelphia District reported positive employment trends in a broad range of sectors, with the majority of hires due to economic growth rather than replacement. Businesses in the New York District continued to increase employment. Contacts in the Boston and Cleveland Districts reported little change in hiring. The Cleveland, Atlanta, Richmond, and Dallas Districts reported increased hiring in manufacturing. In contrast, contacts in the gas and oil production and related industries in the Cleveland, Atlanta, Minneapolis, Kansas City, and Dallas Districts reported downsizing or layoffs.

Wage pressures were moderate across most Districts, but some contacts reported increased wages to attract skilled workers for difficult-to-fill positions. In particular, service sector firms in the New York District noted increasingly widespread reports of wage hikes. Contacts in the Cleveland, Richmond, and Kansas City Districts noted increased wage pressure due to the difficulty in attracting and retaining truck drivers. A staffing firm in the Chicago District reported some companies were also willing to raise rates for unskilled workers to reduce turnover, and contacts in the Atlanta District noted increasing entry-level wages.

Chosen excerpts by Job Market Monitor. Read the whole story at  FRB: Beige Book – March 4, 2015.