KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Manufacturing and services activities in Oklahoma and other states that comprise the 10th District of the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City continue to grow but only modestly.
The November manufacturing and services surveys, according to Chad Wilkerson, vice president and economist at the bank, showed that activity in both sectors is still below levels of a year ago but expectations for the future activity remained solid.
“While regional factories reported another month of growth, manufacturing activity still has not returned to pre-COVID levels,” said Wilkerson.
More than half of the firms that were contacted reported an inability to find skilled workers and a lack of qualified applicants are two of the biggest factors restraining hiring plans. A significant share of firms also had restrained hiring plans due to low expectations for sales growth and uncertainty about the pandemic or coronavirus-related regulations.
In the services category, “A majority of firms indicated that COVID-19 developments have affected their online business strategy and plans, and a significant share of firms reported they have expanded their online business,” Wilkerson said.
The surveys encompassed the district that includes the western third of Missouri, all of Kansas, Colorado, Nebraska, Oklahoma and Wyoming, plus the northern half of New Mexico.