October Beige Book published

The October 16, 2019, edition of the Beige Book has been published by the Federal Reserve Board. Each Federal Reserve Bank gathers anecdotal information on current economic conditions in its District through reports from Bank and Branch directors and interviews with key business contacts, economists, market experts, and other sources. The Beige Book summarizes this information by District and sector eight times each year. An overall summary of the twelve district reports is prepared by a designated Federal Reserve Bank on a rotating basis. This month's summary was prepared by the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland, based on information gathered before October 7, 2019.

• Overall Economic Activity - The U.S. economy expanded at a slight to modest pace since the September report as business activity varied across the country.
• Employment and Wages - On balance, employment rose slightly amid reports of persistent worker shortages.
• Prices - Most Reserve Bank districts characterized the recent pace of price increases as modest. Both retailers and manufacturers noted rising input costs, often for items subject to new tariffs, but retailers had relatively more success passing through these cost increases to their customers.