The FED Said During April and early May, southeastern businesses continued to adjust to a tight labor market, according to the Federal Reserve Beige Book report of economic conditions issued on June 5. For about five years, Atlanta Fed contacts have remarked on the difficulty of finding qualified workers in certain occupations. More recently, some executives […] Read more
The FED Said Online lenders occupy a growing slice of the small business market, as an increasing share of firms turn to them to meet financing needs, an annual Federal Reserve report shows. Nationally, 32 percent of small business credit applicants approached online companies in 2018, according to the 2019 Small Business Credit Survey: Report on […] Read more
The FED Said Disparities in executive function skills by socioeconomic status are observed by the time children reach age two Research from a number of disciplines provides evidence that disparities in early experiences are often correlated with family income or parental education. Recent work by Stephanie Carlson and colleagues shows that gaps in measures of […] Read more
The FED Said Without question, the U.S. labor market has tightened a lot over the last few years. But a shifting trend in labor force participation—and especially a rise in the propensity to seek employment by those in their prime working years—seems to be relieving some labor market pressure. From the first quarter of 2015 […] Read more
The FED Said “Location, location, location” is a truism associated with residential real estate. What we’re hearing from our construction contacts could be another sort of truism: “Labor, lumber, lots.” They are referring to the ongoing tight labor market in the construction trades, the skyrocketing price of lumber, and the difficulty of obtaining lots on […] Read more
The FED Said The recently enacted Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 substantially reduced corporate taxes, from 35 percent to 21 percent. Some commentators and practitioners have voiced concerns about how the new tax law will affect demand for Low Income Housing Tax Credits (LIHTC), America’s primary mechanism for producing new or refurbished affordable housing units. […] Read more
The FED Said Overall Economic Activity Economic activity expanded at a slight-to-moderate pace in March and early April. While most Districts reported that growth continued at a similar pace as the previous report, a few Districts reported some strengthening. There was little change in the outlook among contacts in reporting Districts, with those expecting slight-to-modest […] Read more
The FED Said Most business contacts in the southeastern United States expect continued moderate improvement in economic conditions, according to the Federal Reserve’s Beige Book report on economic activity published April 17. Labor markets remained generally tight, especially for tough-to-fill positions such as medical professionals, engineers, drivers, and skilled laborers. Businesses continued to refine their techniques to […] Read more
The FED Said Two interesting, and important, documents crossed our desk last week. The first was the 2019 edition of the Economic Report of the President. What particularly grabbed our attention was the following statement from Chapter 3: Fundamentally, when people opt to neither work nor look for work it is an indication that the after-tax income […] Read more
The FED Said The share of the prime-age population engaged in the U.S. labor market is on the rise, led by a sharp rebound in the labor force participation (LFP) rate by prime-age female workers (those ages 25–54). This point was highlighted in a recent Wall Street Journal article. Since 2015 the LFP rate for prime-age women […] Read more
The FED Said Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta Summary of Economic Activity Sixth District business contacts reported that economic activity continued to advance at a moderate pace over the reporting period and the outlook among contacts remained positive. Labor markets continued to tighten, and some firms noted relocating certain segments of their operations to gain […] Read more
The FED Said Overall US Economic Activity Economic activity continued to expand in late January and February, with ten Districts reporting slight-to-moderate growth, and Philadelphia and St. Louis reporting flat economic conditions. About half of the Districts noted that the government shutdown had led to slower economic activity in some sectors including retail, auto […] Read more
The FED Said Last summer, we reported that one fifth of firms in the July Survey of Business Uncertainty (SBU) were reassessing capital expenditure plans in light of then-recent tariff hikes and retaliation concerns. Roughly 6 percent had already cut or deferred capital spending as a result of tariff worries. Since then, tariff hikes and trade policy […] Read more
The FED Said Report on Nonemployer Firms Based on the 2017 Small Business Credit Survey Nonemployer firms1 are important to the United States’ economy, comprising 81% of all small businesses,2 employing 17% of the American workforce,3 and generating $1.2 trillion in annual sales.4 While previous research has explored why individuals seek self-employment5 or what conditions drive nonemployers to become employer […] Read more
The FED Said Fading housing affordability remains a challenge for residential builders who already face headwinds from labor cost increases and higher material costs. U.S. home sales have staged a strong comeback in the aftermath of the recession, but many builders are not expecting this year’s sales to be as healthy as they were in […] Read more