San Francisco Full report Economic activity is slowing in the First District. With the exception of the tourist industry, contacted retailers say sales in the first quarter were flat to down from a year ago. Similarly, more than one-half of manufacturing respondents indicate recent sales or orders are down or flat compared with a year earlier. The residential real estate market remains healthy, constrained mostly by lack of inventory.
Contacts report that hiring has become somewhat easier and wage pressures have lessened.
Both retailers and manufacturers say they are not raising prices. Retail Retailers report that sales were flat to declining slightly in the first quarter of 2001 compared with the year-earlier quarter. These results were worse than expected, yet inventories are generally said to be at desired levels. Discount retailers claim demand has softened because their lower-income customers are facing a fuel price squeeze. By contrast, tourism continues to be a bright spot, with no evidence of a slowdown in spending.