U.S. sees moderate growth

WASHINGTON – The Federal Reserve’s latest report of regional economies paints a picture of a nation continuing to grow moderately, with car sales going strong, manufacturing adding to recent gains and the long-depressed housing market showing flickers of life.

But throughout the country, many industries are feeling the pinch of higher oil prices, says the Fed’s “Beige Book” report, released Wednesday. And some employers around the nation are having trouble finding qualified workers, especially to fill high-skilled jobs.

Some of the hiring difficulty was reported by manufacturers, but it’s a troubling sign that jobs are going unfilled when the national unemployment rate is 8.2 percent and millions of people are looking for full-time work. The greater the skills mismatch, the deeper the structural problems of the economy.

The latest Beige Book, which compiles anecdotal reports of the economy from the Fed’s 12 bank districts, covered activity from mid-February through late March. Its summary is consistent with private projections that call for moderate economic growth of 2 percent to 2.5 percent in the first quarter.

That’s not a pace strong enough to produce many jobs. In fact, some of the Fed’s districts reported that employers were sticking with part-time and temporary workers and would hold off on expanding their payrolls further until they saw more robust economic growth. And though some districts, including Chicago and San Francisco, saw rising pay for skilled jobs in manufacturing and high technology, on the whole there was little upward wage pressure in the U.S.