From late February up to April, the economy of the country continued to expand. This boosted employment and provided the long-anticipated push on prices and wages, according to a Wednesday Federal Reserve report.
The Federal Reserve's Beige Book said: "Most districts said that economic growth was in the modest to moderate range and that contacts expected growth would remain in that range going forward."
The Fed's Beige Book is a periodical economic survey that comes out eight times a year. Its current survey revealed a general increase in manufacturing which has been adversely affected by a rising dollar.
The U.S. Federal Reserve discovered that 11 of its 12 regions reported wage increases from late February to early April, as recorded in the Beige Book.
"This is a move we have been hoping employers would make after a long run of strong labor demand, and the reports here show us that wage growth is finally coming," said Tara Sinclair, chief economist of Indeed, a job website.
The current Beige Book also indicated that an increase in consumer spending is about to happen. This sector accounts for about two-thirds of the country's economic output.
Hiring has been vigorous in 2015 with an average of 225,000 jobs added per month, although increases in salaries were slower. A number of economists believe that this situation led U.S. consumers to be more cautious, inducing them to save a majority of their disposable incomes in recent months.
Compared to the Beige Book of March 2, in which the Fed district banks stated that prices were "generally flat," last Wednesday's survey hinted that "overall, prices increased modestly across the majority of districts, and input cost pressures continued to ease" in the face of low energy bills.
The survey also showed that retail prices "increased modestly" while salaries increased in every district except Atlanta. Wages rose mostly in professions where workers turnover and labor shortages were high, the report added.
