Dallas San Francisco Full report Conditions in the Fourth District continue to be strong. Both residential and commercial construction remain healthy throughout the District, with high activity in Columbus and Pittsburgh. District bankers do not detect any extraordinary speculation in the real estate market. Price pressures for goods and services are generally slight.
Temporary agencies report great difficulty in finding workers.
Metropolitan agencies have a particularly high demand for administrative assistants and other high-end clerical workers, while suburban firms are experiencing a shortage of general laborers. In addition to the traditional want ads, agencies are recruiting at churches, job fairs, colleges, and state employment agencies. Retailers, pressed to find qualified individuals at all skill levels, have changed their incentives and recruiting procedures to attract new employees. Some manufacturers report a long-term problem in hiring people with a strong electronics background. Job security continues to be a high concern for unions, whose success in obtaining more job security provisions and longer contracts has been mixed.