The survey from the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond showed that the
U.S. fifth district's service sector activity expanded slightly in January.
According to the survey, the service sector revenues index rose from 0
in December 2023 to +4 in January 2024. This was the highest reading since September
2023 (+4).
The survey also found a marginal increase in the demand index (to 5 this
month, up from +2 in December). Meanwhile, the employment index slipped (to 3,
up from 5 in December) with firms continuing to report wage increases (33, compared
to 30 in December) and little change in their ability to find workers with the
necessary skills (3, unchanged compared to December).
In other survey results, expectations indexes for future revenue (15, up
from 13 in December), demand (10, sharply down from 21 in December) and employment
(18, unchanged from December) demonstrated mixed performance but remained in
positive territory.
On the price front, the average growth in prices paid (6.28, up from 5.71
in December) and prices received (4.14, up from 3.75) accelerated somewhat in January,
but is expected to moderate over the coming year (to 4.37 and 3.40,
respectively).