Texas Service Sector Outlook Survey

Surveys

March 26, 2024

Results Table

Business Indicators Relating to Facilities and Products in Texas Current (versus previous month)
Indicator	Mar Index	Feb Index	Change	Series Average	Trend*	% Reporting Increase	% Reporting No Change	% Reporting Decrease
Revenue	4.0	5.2	–1.2	10.7	2(+)	24.0	55.9	20.0
Employment	–1.2	3.8	–5.0	6.4	1(–)	10.7	77.4	11.9
Part–Time Employment	–1.2	2.8	–4.0	1.5	1(–)	3.2	92.4	4.4
Hours Worked	0.7	0.3	+0.4	2.7	2(+)	7.7	85.3	7.0
Wages and Benefits	19.5	15.4	+4.1	15.8	46(+)	22.3	74.9	2.8
Input Prices	30.4	34.3	–3.9	28.0	47(+)	33.9	62.7	3.5
Selling Prices	7.7	7.7	0.0	7.7	44(+)	18.3	71.1	10.6
Capital Expenditures	6.7	10.3	–3.6	10.0	44(+)	14.9	76.9	8.2

General Business Conditions Current (versus previous month)
Indicator	Mar Index	Feb Index	Change	Series Average	Trend**	% Reporting Improved	% Reporting No Change	% Reporting Worsened
Company Outlook	–0.1	3.8	–3.9	4.4	1(–)	12.7	74.4	12.8
General Business Activity	–5.5	–3.9	–1.6	2.5	22(–)	11.2	72.1	16.7

Indicator	Mar Index	Feb Index	Change	Series Average	Trend*	% Reporting Increase	% Reporting No Change	% Reporting Decrease
Outlook Uncertainty	10.2	6.7	+3.5	13.5	34(+)	21.3	67.6	11.1

Business Indicators Relating to Facilities and Products in Texas Future (six months ahead)
Indicator	Mar Index	Feb Index	Change	Series Average	Trend*	% Reporting Increase	% Reporting No Change	% Reporting Decrease
Revenue	39.2	37.8	+1.4	37.4	47(+)	48.9	41.5	9.7
Employment	21.9	20.9	+1.0	23.2	47(+)	30.9	60.1	9.0
Part–Time Employment	5.5	6.8	–1.3	6.7	21(+)	12.0	81.5	6.5
Hours Worked	4.9	5.5	–0.6	5.8	47(+)	11.6	81.7	6.7
Wages and Benefits	36.0	33.7	+2.3	37.4	47(+)	39.6	56.8	3.6
Input Prices	38.1	40.3	–2.2	44.6	207(+)	44.7	48.8	6.6
Selling Prices	24.7	22.5	+2.2	24.7	47(+)	32.9	58.8	8.2
Capital Expenditures	17.4	18.1	–0.7	23.0	46(+)	24.5	68.4	7.1

General Business Conditions Future (six months ahead)
Indicator	Mar Index	Feb Index	Change	Series Average	Trend**	% Reporting Improved	% Reporting No Change	% Reporting Worsened
Company Outlook	12.2	15.6	–3.4	15.5	5(+)	23.7	64.8	11.5
General Business Activity	5.4	12.0	–6.6	12.1	4(+)	21.7	62.0	16.3

March 26, 2024

Results Table

Business Indicators Relating to Facilities and Products in Texas Retail (versus previous month)
Indicator	Mar Index	Feb Index	Change	Series Average	Trend*	% Reporting Increase	% Reporting No Change	% Reporting Decrease
Retail Activity in Texas
Sales	–3.4	–5.3	+1.9	3.8	11(–)	23.5	49.6	26.9
Employment	–5.0	2.4	–7.4	1.8	1(–)	7.6	79.8	12.6
Part–Time Employment	1.3	4.5	–3.2	–1.5	2(+)	3.0	95.3	1.7
Hours Worked	–6.3	–4.6	–1.7	–2.1	3(–)	4.7	84.3	11.0
Wages and Benefits	22.4	12.9	+9.5	11.3	44(+)	26.1	70.2	3.7
Input Prices	27.0	22.3	+4.7	22.8	47(+)	33.7	59.6	6.7
Selling Prices	4.4	3.8	+0.6	13.7	46(+)	26.8	50.8	22.4
Capital Expenditures	4.8	12.6	–7.8	7.9	4(+)	12.9	79.0	8.1
Inventories	16.1	18.9	–2.8	2.7	5(+)	34.8	46.5	18.7
Companywide Retail Activity
Companywide Sales	2.4	–12.6	+15.0	5.0	1(+)	24.5	53.5	22.1
Companywide Internet Sales	6.5	–11.8	+18.3	4.1	1(+)	21.0	64.5	14.5

General Business Conditions, Retail Current (versus previous month)
Indicator	Mar Index	Feb Index	Change	Series Average	Trend**	% Reporting Improved	% Reporting No Change	% Reporting Worsened
Company Outlook	–4.5	–5.0	+0.5	1.9	6(–)	8.7	78.1	13.2
General Business Activity	–15.6	–18.0	+2.4	–2.1	9(–)	8.2	68.0	23.8

Outlook Uncertainty Current (versus previous month)
Indicator	Mar Index	Feb Index	Change	Series Average	Trend*	% Reporting Increase	% Reporting No Change	% Reporting Decrease
Outlook Uncertainty	–3.8	9.5	–13.3	11.2	1(–)	9.4	77.4	13.2

Business Indicators Relating to Facilities and Products in Texas, Retail Future (six months ahead)
Indicator	Mar Index	Feb Index	Change	Series Average	Trend*	% Reporting Increase	% Reporting No Change	% Reporting Decrease
Retail Activity in Texas
Sales	33.5	8.7	+24.8	30.6	10(+)	41.3	50.9	7.8
Employment	17.3	9.3	+8.0	12.9	15(+)	23.7	69.9	6.4
Part–Time Employment	8.7	5.8	+2.9	1.6	4(+)	14.1	80.5	5.4
Hours Worked	–0.9	–8.0	+7.1	2.5	2(–)	9.4	80.3	10.3
Wages and Benefits	37.2	22.5	+14.7	29.1	47(+)	39.3	58.7	2.1
Input Prices	39.5	14.0	+25.5	34.0	47(+)	45.8	47.9	6.3
Selling Prices	28.6	2.0	+26.6	29.1	47(+)	40.8	46.9	12.2
Capital Expenditures	10.9	5.4	+5.5	16.8	4(+)	22.7	65.5	11.8
Inventories	15.9	8.6	+7.3	10.7	5(+)	33.0	49.8	17.1
Companywide Retail Activity
Companywide Sales	30.7	8.0	+22.7	29.2	10(+)	38.9	52.9	8.2
Companywide Internet Sales	20.0	5.3	+14.7	21.3	2(+)	22.9	74.3	2.9

General Business Conditions, Retail Future (six months ahead)
Indicator	Mar Index	Feb Index	Change	Series Average	Trend**	% Reporting Improved	% Reporting No Change	% Reporting Worsened
Company Outlook	15.4	4.2	+11.2	15.1	2(+)	23.4	68.6	8.0
General Business Activity	8.2	–0.9	+9.1	10.4	1(+)	23.0	62.2	14.8

*Shown is the number of consecutive months of expansion or contraction in the underlying indicator. Expansion is indicated by a positive index reading and denoted by a (+) in the table. Contraction is indicated by a negative index reading and denoted by a (–) in the table.

**Shown is the number of consecutive months of improvement or worsening in the underlying indicator. Improvement is indicated by a positive index reading and denoted by a (+) in the table. Worsening is indicated by a negative index reading and denoted by a (–) in the table.

Data have been seasonally adjusted as necessary.

Questions regarding the Texas Service Sector Outlook Survey can be addressed to Christopher Slijk at christopher.slijk@dal.frb.org.

Results Table

Texas Retail Outlook Survey

Results Table