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):

Activity in the broad service sector continued to grow in February, despite weaker conditions at retail establishments, according to the latest survey by the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond. Retail sales slumped in February, as shopper traffic declined and big-ticket sales fell; inventories rose. Revenues grew at non-retail services firms, although slightly less rapidly than a month earlier. Looking ahead six months, survey respondents expected stronger consumer demand, although optimism among services providers was partly offset by a bleaker outlook from retailers, compared to a month ago.
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Turning to service sector labor, employment rose overall in February, with both retail and non-retail sectors adding employees. Widespread growth in average retail wages continued, while average wages at services firms flattened.
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Price growth edged up slightly this month, and survey participants anticipated the pace of price growth would quicken in the six months ahead