Economic activity in St. Louis region remains flat

Economic activity remains flat in the St. Louis region.

Chuck Gascon, senior economist with the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, described the overall outlook as “slightly pessimistic.”

“Not a lot of businesses (are) telling us that they’re actively hiring. Again, some of that has to do with just uncertainty in the outlook, but then also just higher labor costs that firms are facing,” Gascon told KMOX Radio. “Insurance is something that comes up a lot, that health insurance costs have gone up more than anticipated and businesses have to figure out how to offset some of those higher costs, you know, either with slower pay growth or just reducing their expansion plans.”

Getting a loan is also pricier for companies these days.

“If people and businesses are looking to access capital, it’