March 7, 2018
Summary of Economic Activity
The Eleventh District economy expanded at a moderate pace over the past six weeks. The manufacturing sector continued to expand robustly, energy activity increased, and home sales continued to rise. Growth slowed slightly in financial and nonfinancial services, while retail sales declined modestly.
Hiring was strong across most sectors. Widespread reports of labor market tightness and difficulty finding qualified workers continued, and more firms responded by raising wages than in prior reporting periods. Price pressures remained elevated, and in some cases intensified. Outlooks remained broadly optimistic, although some uncertainty persisted.
Employment and Wages
Overall employment growth remained solid, and
upward wage pressure increased somewhat. Hiring continued at a robust pace in manufacturing, services, and retail. Hiring in the energy sector has expanded so far in 2018, although numerous contacts noted a severe shortage of workers in West Texas, particularly for skilled positions. A lack of qualified candidates continued to challenge businesses in other sectors as well, with several reports that this lack of workers was inhibiting growth. Several contacts in construction-related industries noted further tightening in labor markets due to hurricane-related rebuilding.
More firms said they raised wages to retain and/or attract workers than in the prior reporting period, particularly in the manufacturing, retail, and hospitality sectors. Energy contacts also noted an increase in wage pressure, for upstream jobs as well as for downstream construction labor. Also, a staffing firm noted that pay increases were fairly widespread among workers earning about $9 per hour.
Looking ahead, firms were quite bullish on their hiring plans. More than half of the 362 firms responding to supplemental questions in the February Texas Business Outlook Surveys said they expect to increase their employment over the next six to twelve months, up roughly five percentage points from a year ago.
...............................
Yer İmleri