Many districts suggest that employers have continued to be creative in finding and recruiting additional labor. Employers in the Atlanta district, for example, appear to be using more bonuses and incentives as part of total labor compensation, and many companies are using more part-time workers and consultants as well as allowing employees to work at home. Some firms in the Boston district are avoiding higher labor costs for new hires by outsourcing and changing work assignments internally. Prices remain generally subdued, but many districts report pockets of higher prices for some specific sectors and goods. At the retail level, price increases have been marginal and infrequent.
Retailers indicate that stiff competition continues to restrain price increases.
Chicago suggests there have been a few signs that consumer resistance to price increases has softened somewhat. In contrast, retailers in the New York district report that selling prices and merchandise costs have been flat to slightly down. Prices for manufacturing goods and materials have held steady, with modest increases for a few items, such as cardboard, packaging materials, metals, and ethylene-based petrochemicals. The big exception has been building materials, especially sheetrock, which continues to experience substantial price increases. Housing prices and commercial rental rates have also increased in several districts.