US job growth picks up, hiring still a challenge: Federal Reserve

United States US employment growth has recently picked up but hiring remains a ldquowidespreadrdquo challenge the Federal Reserve saidldquoThe pace of job growth varied by industry but was generally strongest in manufacturing construction and leisure and hospitalityrdquo the central bank said in its latest Beige Book released on WednesdayldquoHiring remained a widespread challenge particularly for lowwage or hourly workers restraining job growth in some casesrdquo it continued The Beige Book published eight times per year contains economic reports from 12 Federal Reserve districts each of which is monitored by a regional Federal Reserve Bank reports Xinhua news agency The latest report was based on information collected on or before April 5The Fed noted that wage growth accelerated ldquoslightlyrdquo overall with more significant wage pressures in industries like manufacturing and construction where finding and retaining workers was ldquoparticularly difficultrdquoAccording to the report national economic activity accelerated to a moderate pace from late February to early April with consumer spending strengthenedReports on tourism were more upbeat bolstered by a pickup in demand for leisure activities and travel which contacts attributed to spring break an easing of pandemicrelated restrictions increased vaccinations and recent stimulus payments among other factors the report noted Outlooks were more optimistic than in the previous report boosted in part by an acceleration in COVID19 vaccinations it saidEU leaders to negotiate Digital Green CertificateEuropean Union EU leaders have formally agreed to launch negotiations on details of a Digital Green Certificate with lawmakers in the European Parliament in order to have a system that would enable travel by summer according to an official statement The certificates would allow ldquosafe free movementrdquo within the EU for those already vaccinated those who recovered from COVID19 or those with negative test results Xinhua news agency quoted the statement issued by the EU Council as sayingItaly halts rollout of JampJ vaccineItaly has halted its rollout plans for the USmade Johnson amp Johnson COVID19 vaccine just before it was set to begin distribution of the onedose jab a government official said The news on Wednesday comes after the US suspended the use of the JampJ vaccine while investigating into speculations that the jab may cause blood clots reports Xinhua news agency Italy had been scheduled to start using the JampJ vaccine this weekEU looks at 18 bn doses of Pfizer jabsEuropean Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen said that talks were underway with PfizerBioNTech for a new contract for 18 billion doses of COVID19 vaccines to be delivered in 2022 and 2023 She said in a statement on Wednesday that the new contract was sought after the European Union EU drew the lessons during the first phase of the pandemic reports Xinhua news agencyThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever