Some firms are designing separate salary and benefit packages for especially scarce skilled workers, such as information technology employees, while others have increased overtime. Retailers reported that prices were generally unchanged from last month. Prices edged up for some manufacturing materials, partially due to higher transportation costs. Prices edged down for others, such as aluminum, due to lower demand from Asia. Prices of construction materials held steady.
Retailers expect no major price changes in the coming months.
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