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September 8, 2005
Beige Book
The pre-Katrina Beige Book is on line at the Fed's web site for those who are interested. Lately, I've just been skipping right to the section on wages and prices:
Wage increases were generally modest, but a number of Districts noted pressure on benefit costs, such as health insurance. In the Kansas City, Minneapolis, and San Francisco Districts, wage pressure was described as up slightly, moderately, and modestly. Meanwhile, Dallas noted that pressure on salaries was growing, particularly for skilled workers, but that firms were resisting overall wage increases. Temporary firms in the Boston District noted concern about rising costs for unemployment and health insurance, while manufacturing and related services firms noted moderate wage and salary increases. In Kansas City, the percent of firms reporting wage pressures increased slightly from recent surveys. A contact in the Richmond District noted that companies were turning to temporary agencies to reduce costs of benefits and payroll administration.
Except for energy, overall consumer price increases were modest. Most Districts reported significant price increases in certain commodities and energy products, especially gasoline. Higher energy costs were reported by almost all Districts, and energy-intensive industries were able to pass some of these costs on to consumers in the Atlanta, Boston, Cleveland, Chicago, Kansas City, Minneapolis, Philadelphia, and San Francisco Districts. Dallas and Richmond noted that most industries had difficulty passing increased energy costs on to consumers. In addition, several Districts reported significant increases in certain manufacturing and construction input prices, including steel, chemicals, plastics, and cement. Decreased lumber prices were noted in Dallas, Kansas City, and Minneapolis. Retailers and hotels increased prices in the Kansas City District.
Posted by William Polley at September 8, 2005 2:55 PM
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