American Staffing Association (10/17/13) Alexandra Karaer
The Federal Reserve Board’s latest report on regional economies (known as the “beige book”) says that overall economic activity continued to expand at a “modest to moderate pace” throughout the nation during the survey period. Contacts across the 12 districts generally remained cautiously optimistic in their outlook for future economic activity, although many also noted an increase in uncertainty due largely to the federal government shutdown and the debt ceiling debate. The report notes, “Demand for staffing services increased in the New York, Philadelphia, Cleveland, and Minneapolis districts, with New York citing strong demand for information technology occupations and Cleveland highlighting health care and manufacturing. In contrast, staffing service activity was down slightly in the Chicago and Dallas districts.”