The FED Said Spring brought a lift to home sales, according to the latest Federal Reserve Beige Book report of economic conditions. Economic activity expanded reasonably from mid-May to June, and most business contacts have a positive outlook for growth in the second half of the year. Tariffs continue to cause concern for some sectors. Residential […] Read more
The FED Said One day a single mother in Florida phoned Brittany Birken with a vexing dilemma. The woman’s employer was offering a dime-an-hour raise, a material boost at her low wage. But the woman, who had two children under five years old, was unsure whether to accept the pay hike because the additional income […] Read more
The FED Said Millennials are often described in terms of certain behaviors and attitudes. However, findings from recent Federal Reserve reports suggest that in some ways, this generation—which includes those born from the early 1980s to the mid-1990s—may not be that much different from previous generations, especially when it comes to spending. According to the […] Read more
The FED Said Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta Summary of Economic Activity Sixth District business contacts reported that economic activity continued at a modest pace from April through mid-May. The outlook among contacts remains optimistic as most firms expect modest growth to continue over the next three to six months. District firms continued to report […] Read more
The FED Said Overall Economic Activity Economic activity expanded at a modest pace overall from April through mid-May, a slight improvement over the previous period. Almost all Districts reported some growth, and a few saw moderate gains in activity. Manufacturing reports were generally positive, but some Districts noted signs of slowing activity and a more […] Read more
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