FED'S BEIGE reports the U.S. labor market broadly expanded. Of 12 Fed districts, five saw job gains (ranging from mild to moderate-to-meaningful), seven were essentially unchanged; only one district showed an improvement versus the prior report. Employment gains were concentrated in manufacturing, construction and retail, while technicians and skilled trades remain hard to hire; a few districts reported limited job declines. Wages largely rose modestly to moderately, with some pay increases driv

FED'S BEIGE reports the U.S. labor market broadly expanded. Of 12 Fed districts, five saw job gains (ranging from mild to moderate-to-meaningful), seven were essentially unchanged; only one district showed an improvement versus the prior report. Employment gains were concentrated in manufacturing, construction and retail, while technicians and skilled trades remain hard to hire; a few districts reported limited job declines. Wages largely rose modestly to moderately, with some pay increases driven by competition for skilled labor. Several districts noted firms are increasingly using AI for candidate screening or to raise employee productivity.