Dallas San Francisco Full report Economic activity in the Ninth District is mixed. Manufacturing, mining and agriculture are in the doldrums.
Consumer spending is flat and housing construction continues to grow at a slow rate.
However, the energy, tourism and commercial real estate sectors continue to expand at a solid pace. Labor markets are starting to loosen, but unemployment rates remain at historically low levels, and wage increases are moderate. Overall, price increases are temperate, but costs are heating up for energy, health care and housing. Construction and Real Estate Commercial construction activity is solid, but some signs of slowing exist. Building contracts awarded in the Dakotas and Minnesota increased 25 percent for the three-month period ending in December compared with the same period in 1999.