South By North Strategies, Ltd.

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

Fifth District service sector activity strengthened in March, according to the latest survey by the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond. Retail sales expanded and inventories decreased. In addition, the drop in big-ticket sales abated this month. Shopper traffic continued to slump, however. At non-retail services firms, revenues fell, but the decline was less pervasive than in recent months. Price change in the broad service sector was nearly the same as a month ago.
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In labor markets, job cuts subsided at retail businesses and the number of employees was unchanged at services firms. Average wages in the overall service sector ticked higher in March.