Fed: Economy still growing, but unevenly across nation

{mosads}Wednesday’s version marks the first since the the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that unemployment grew to 9.1 percent in May, while the economy added just 54,000 jobs that month, well below economists’ expectations.

The book also comes one day after comments from Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke spoke for the first time since that jobs report. Speaking at a conference in Atlanta, he acknowledged that economic growth in the first half of 2011 has been lower than expected, but said conditions are in place for stronger growth over the next six months.

The latest version of the beige book paints a mixed picture for the nation’s economy. While the four aforementioned districts reported a slowdown in economic growth, Dallas reported an acceleration, while the remaining seven districts found the economy to be growing steadily.

The beige book also serves as a bit of a counterweight to the latest jobs report, finding that labor market conditions were improving gradually nationwide. A number of districts reported a shortage of specialized workers. However, workers were seeing their wage growth limited by an abundance of available workers.

Similarly, consumer spending was mixed across the nation. Most districts reported “steady to modestly increasing” spending, but the report also notes that higher food and fuel prices and nasty weather were discouraging some spending. Auto sales lagged in the Northeast, but were “fairly robust” elsewhere in the country.

Weather also weighed on agriculture, as cool and wet weather and flooding along the Mississippi River drove down farming production in the South and Midwest

One consistent factor has been continued weakness in residential construction and real estate. As the nation continues to see home prices decline and foreclosures mount in the wake of the housing crisis, the beige book reported “widespread weakness” in housing. Rental housing was a lone bright spot, as both market conditions and construction have picked up as more people look to rent rather than buy.