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The U.S. Federal Reserve's National Economic Situation Survey showed that the U.S. economy has grown slightly since the beginning of January, and inflationary pressures remain widespread.
The report, released Wednesday (March 6), is based on the latest findings of the Federal Reserve's 12 regional reserve banks, also known as the Beige Book. The report shows that since the last Beige Book was released in January, eight of the Fed's jurisdictions have seen slow economic growth, but economic activity has slowed in the Philadelphia jurisdiction. At the same time, consumer spending fell slightly, and household consumption continued to decline. However, demand for residential property has risen due to a slowdown in mortgage rates**.
In terms of inflation, price pressures are still widespread in all jurisdictions, and only a few jurisdictions have eased the inflation situation to a certain extent. As consumers become more sensitive to change, it is more difficult for companies to pass on high costs.
The Beige Book also shows that overall employment levels have risen modestly in most jurisdictions and labor market tightness continues to ease, but businesses still struggle to attract highly skilled talent, such as engineers or skilled workers. At the same time, employee pay levels continued**, with only a few jurisdictions seeing a slowdown in wage increases.
The Federal Reserve publishes eight "Beige Books" each year to map the economic situation in the United States through regional reserve banks. The report is an important reference for the Federal Reserve's monetary policy meeting. The next Fed monetary policy meeting will be held on March 19-20.