The tri-state region economy held steady in August and September according to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, but employers indicate the job market continues to soften amid little new hiring.
In the latest installment of its informal Beige Book survey of area employers, the Fed stated a major New York City employment agency said hiring activity remained sluggish after Labor Day ”“ a time when recruitment activity typically picks up. The weakness was fairly broad-based, though most evident in the finance sector.
In its own report covering September, Norwalk-based FairfieldCountyJobs.com also observed softening in the Fairfield County employment market, with 9 percent fewer job postings on the website, but termed it still a “strong job market.”
Office vacancy rates in Fairfield County and Westchester County, N.Y. climbed to their highest level in a number of years, according to the Fed, as was the case in northern New Jersey. Vacancy rates also edged up in Manhattan, with sluggish demand from financial companies more than offsetting strong demand in the tech sector. A substantial amount of office space is scheduled to come onto the lower Manhattan market in early 2013, the Fed added.
Bankers told the Fed that commercial loan demand is increasing, but not consumer loan demand. Retailers reported flat sales activity in recent weeks, with one major chain finding sales especially sluggish in September.
