South By North Strategies, Ltd.

From the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond’s latest survey of service-sector activity in the South Atlantic (District of Columbia, Maryland, North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia and West Virginia):

Service sector activity remained generally soft in May, although employment picked up, according to the latest survey by the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond. Retail sales performance was subdued, with big-ticket sales in decline and shopper traffic unchanged from a month ago. Retail inventories were little changed. Revenues were also lackluster at non-retail services firms this month. Looking ahead six months, retailers expected sales to remain weak, while services providers anticipated stronger customer demand.
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On the jobs front, hiring rose, with the majority of the growth occurring at non-retail firms. Average wages also made solid headway at services providers, driving up the wage indicator for the broad service sector.
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The pace of price change slowed overall in May compared to a month ago. Survey participants expected a faster rate of increase during the next six months.