Several Fed districts reported that firms faced rising materials and shipping costs, uncertainties over trade and difficulty finding qualified workers. Employment expanded modestly/moderately across the US, as employers throughout the country continued to report tight labor markets and difficulties finding qualified workers, including highly skilled engineers, finance and sales professionals, construction and manufacturing workers, IT professionals, and truck drivers.
And while wage growth was characterised as "modest to moderate", paradoxically, the Beige Book, based on anecdotal information collected by the 12 regional Fed banks through Oct. 15, continued to show that companies are generally not responding to the tightening labor market with significantly higher wages. Almost as if the labor market slack is far, far greater than the BLS or the administration will want us to believe.
In lieu of higher wages, some firms offered signing bonuses, flexible hours and more vacation time in order to attract and retain workers." Most businesses also expected wage gains to remain “modest to moderate” over the coming six months.
The report also pointed to widespread labor shortages that were “linked to wage increases and/or constrained growth." In the Philadelphia district, one firm noted difficulty launching a third shift because of a lack of workers while another was planning to add robots. In fact, there were two mentions of the word "robots" in this beige book.
Beige Book: Tariff Panic, Widespread Labor Shortages And "Robots"
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And while wage growth was characterised as "modest to moderate", paradoxically, the Beige Book, based on anecdotal information collected by the 12 regional Fed banks through Oct. 15, continued to show that companies are generally not responding to the tightening labor market with significantly higher wages. Almost as if the labor market slack is far, far greater than the BLS or the administration will want us to believe.
In lieu of higher wages, some firms offered signing bonuses, flexible hours and more vacation time in order to attract and retain workers." Most businesses also expected wage gains to remain “modest to moderate” over the coming six months.
The report also pointed to widespread labor shortages that were “linked to wage increases and/or constrained growth." In the Philadelphia district, one firm noted difficulty launching a third shift because of a lack of workers while another was planning to add robots. In fact, there were two mentions of the word "robots" in this beige book.
Beige Book: Tariff Panic, Widespread Labor Shortages And "Robots"
Queue Transporter 'I'm Better Than You'
Anyone or Anything that does not conform to YOUR World View is Either Ignorant, Uneducated or Selfish ..... or a Russian Bot or a Russian From Minsk Troll Farm
