Oct 21, 2010

Regional recovery continues but hiring limitedBy Robert GavinBoston.com

New England’s economic recovery continues to advance as most businesses report improving sales, but limited hiring, according to a Federal Reserve survey released today.

The survey, which comes out eight times a year, found conditions for most industries are improved from a year ago, although commercial real estate and housing markets continue to struggle.

“Retail, manufacturing, and consulting firms,” the survey said, “expect continued growth, albeit at a modest pace. Indeed, across all sectors, the outlook appears to be `more of the same.’ “

The survey, known as the Beige Book, collects anecdotal information from businesses around the country in advance of the Fed’s rate-setting meetings. Policy makers, who have already slashed the Fed’s key short-term interest rate to near zero, meet again in two weeks, when they are expected to consider large scale purchases of government bonds to boost the anemic recovery.

Such purchases would be aimed at driving down long-term interest rates on mortgages and commercial loans as way to entice businesses and consumers to borrow and spend. Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke made a case for such a move last week when he spoke at a conference at the Boston Federal Reserve Bank, calling unemployment too high and inflation too low.

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