Fed says eleven of twelve Districts report little or no net change in employment

In its latest Beige Book report, the Federal Reserve stated: “Eleven Districts described little or no net change in overall employment levels, while one District described a modest decline. Seven Districts noted that firms were hesitant to hire workers because of weaker demand or uncertainty. Moreover, contacts in two Districts reported an increase in layoffs, while contacts in multiple Districts reported reducing headcounts through attrition-encouraged, at times, by return-to-office policies and facilitated, at times, by greater automation, including new AI tools… Ten Districts characterized price growth as moderate or modest. The other two Districts described strong input price growth that outpaced moderate or modest selling price growth. Nearly all Districts noted tariff-related price increases, with contacts from many Districts reporting that tariffs were especially impactful on the prices of inputs.”