However, reservations at Panama City hotels and motels for Spring Break are down by 40 percent compared with a year ago. Casino gross gaming revenues were up by 13 percent from a year ago in Mississippi. Financial Despite continued weakness in some sectors, loan demand remains high overall and the availability of investment capital is unchanged for most businesses. Commercial loan demand continues to be particularly strong, while consumer and automobile loan demand remain robust. Mortgage loan volume and applications and refinancing activity continue to be depressed.
Credit quality is reported as healthy overall.
Wages and Prices Tight labor markets continue to adversely impact the District, and there were scattered reports of accelerating wages. Technological improvements are easing the labor shortage for some District firms, and other companies are increasing in-house training to deal with the lack of qualified workers. Many contacts indicated that overtime is being used to cover staffing gaps but expressed concern that employees can only work so much. High-tech firms in the region are reportedly spending a lot of time and resources just to maintain staffing levels and fulfill contract obligations. Some businesses are being forced to offer reduced levels of service because of a shortage of workers.