The First District report, covering New England, is prepared by the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston. Economic activity is slowing in the First District. First District retailers report that sales were flat to declining slightly in the first quarter of 2001 compared with the year-earlier quarter. These results were worse than expected, yet inventories are generally said to be at desired levels.
Tourism continues to be a bright spot, with no evidence of a slowdown in spending.
Employment levels are mostly said to be holding steady, with only a few retailers selling discount goods or autos reporting layoffs. The majority of contacts say that they do not intend to expand their operations in 2001. Retailers say they are holding their prices level and they are seeing only sporadic increases in vendor prices. About one-half of First District manufacturing contacts report that recent sales or orders are down relative to a year earlier. The remaining one-half indicate that business is flat or up.