Fed Beige Book Shows ‘Widespread’ Job Gains Across U.S.

The Federal Reserve reported broad-based employment gains across U.S. industries and regions, two days before the Labor Department issues its highly anticipated monthly jobs data.

“Employment gains were widespread,” the Fed said today in its Beige Book business survey, which is based on reports gathered on or before Nov. 24. “A number of districts also noted that contacts remained optimistic about the outlook for future economic activity.”