Federal Reserve survey: 11 of 12 regions report economic improvements, signs of stabilization

Fed survey: most of US in economic healing mode

WASHINGTON — A new government survey finds the vast majority of the country reporting economic activity is stabilizing or improving, as the worst recession since the 1930s appears to be over.

The Federal Reserve’s snapshot of economic conditions backs predictions by Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke and most other analysts that the economy has started to grow again in the current quarter.

In the new survey, all but one of the Fed’s 12 regions indicated that economic activity was “stable,” showed “signs of stabilization” or had “firmed.”

The one exception was the St. Louis region, which continued to report that the pace of decline in economic activity appeared to be “moderating.”