Community Conditions: A New Section in the SF Fed’s Beige Book Report

The Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco is dedicated to building an economy that works for everyone. To support this goal, we continue to promote a healthy, inclusive, and sustainable economy. We are working to become a community-engaged Bank, furthering our understanding of how different people and businesses experience the economy.

In engaging with our District stakeholders to understand economic conditions, we collect information from a variety of sources in the communities we serve. We communicate such information to the public through the SF Fed’s Beige Book report, a biquarterly summary of economic conditions in our District as reported by business and nonbusiness leaders across the region. To include more diverse voices in the information that we gather and deepen our understanding of economic conditions in our District, the SF Fed has broadened the areas from which we can learn.

To better communicate this expanded set of information, the SF Fed is introducing a new section to its Beige Book report that will focus more explicitly on economic conditions at the level of local communities and groups. The goal of this new community section is to highlight information provided by nonbusiness sources, including nonprofits, social service providers, and other community organizations.

This new section will cover a variety of topics, such as recent economic developments in lower-income areas, workforce education and training activities, usage of nonprofit services, challenges and opportunities for small businesses, and related issues affecting the diverse communities in our District.

The new section, titled “Community Conditions,” is being introduced as part of the August 2022 Beige Book report, which was published on September 7, 2022. The new “Community Conditions” section will be a regular feature of the SF Fed’s Beige Book report going forward.

It is important to note that the Beige Book as a whole is a product of the Federal Reserve System intended to characterize reported changes in economic conditions throughout the twelve Federal Reserve Districts. The Beige Book is not a commentary on the views of Federal Reserve officials. For more details on the purpose of and the information contained within the Beige Book, please see the Beige Book’s FAQ page.

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The views expressed here do not necessarily reflect the views of the management of the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco or of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System.