Federal Reserve Beige Book for February 2025
The Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis recently released the Eighth District Beige Book, which is a summary of economic conditions based on mostly qualitative information gathered within the district, including employment, wages, real estate, crop conditions, and banking conditions. According to the report, manufacturing activity has increased slightly, and found wages continued to increase at a moderate pace. Prices also continued to increase moderately; however, price increases were slightly above expectations. Throughout the District, businesses reported that increased labor and nonlabor costs were negatively impacting their profits. The outlook declined from slightly optimistic in the previous report to neutral for the current report. Support occupations are projected to have the most grade A and B openings in the region.
Missouri Business Index Rises
Missouri’s Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) for February 2025 was 56.2, increasing 6.0 points from January’s level of 50.2. The Mid-America Region index climbed above growth neutral for only the fourth time since July 2024. Economists consider the index a key economic indicator. It measures such factors as new orders, production, supplier delivery times, backlogs, inventories, prices, employment, import orders, and exports. Typically, a score greater than 50 indicates an expansionary economy while a score below 50 forecasts a sluggish economy.
