Fed's Beige Book: Midwest contraction

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Whereas some industries experienced substantial dropse in activity during the pastsix weeks, modest increasesz in other sectors led the Fed to characterizse the Ninth District’s contraction as moderating. The Nintbh Federal District includes Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota, the Upper Peninsulw of Michigan and northwestern Consumer spending and tourism were still buthad “improved somewhagt from the previous few months,” according to the Fed. The servicr sector continued to experiencedecreasecd revenue, employment and profits compared to a year ago, and furthef profit contraction is likely.
The Fed characterizexd the commercial real estate sectoras “anemic,” addiny that residential construction continued at steadilty low levels. The residential real estate market did see more activity than in the previouwsreporting period. Manufacturing continued its slide, as did energy and mining. some wind energy projects continue to move and gold mines areat “near capacitgy production.” Labor markets continued to struggle. Job cuts in many of them in the health careand medical-devicde fields, were cited by the Fed in its assessment of labore conditions. Wage increases were modest, and firms surveyefd by the Fed expect to increase wagesby 1.
8 percent over the next Price increases, however, were “subdued,” with the rising cost of gas a notable the Fed reported. The Fed’s next Beige Book report is dueJuly 29.