<p>United States (US) employment growth has recently picked up, but hiring remains a &ldquo;widespread&rdquo; challenge, the Federal Reserve said.</p>
<p>&ldquo;The pace of job growth varied by industry but was generally strongest in manufacturing, construction, and leisure and hospitality,&rdquo; the central bank said in its latest Beige Book released on Wednesday.</p>
<p>&ldquo;Hiring remained a widespread challenge, particularly for low-wage or hourly workers, restraining job growth in some cases,&rdquo; 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 5.</p>
<p>The Fed noted that wage growth accelerated &ldquo;slightly&rdquo; overall, with more significant wage pressures in industries like manufacturing and construction where finding and retaining workers was &ldquo;particularly difficult&rdquo;.</p>
<p>According to the report, national economic activity accelerated to a moderate pace from late February to early April, with consumer spending strengthened.Reports 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 pandemic-related 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 COVID-19 vaccinations, it said.&nbsp;</p>
<h2>EU leaders to negotiate Digital Green Certificate</h2>
<p>European 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 &ldquo;safe free movement&rdquo; within the EU for those already vaccinated, those who recovered from COVID-19, or those with negative test results, Xinhua news agency quoted the statement issued by the EU Council as saying.</p>
<h2>Italy halts rollout of J&amp;J vaccine</h2>
<p>Italy has halted its rollout plans for the US-made Johnson &amp; Johnson COVID-19 vaccine just before it was set to begin distribution of the one-dose jab, a government official said. The news on Wednesday comes after the US suspended the use of the J&amp;J vaccine while investigating into speculations that the jab may cause blood clots, reports Xinhua news agency. Italy had been scheduled to start using the J&amp;J vaccine this week.</p>
<h2>EU looks at 1.8 bn &nbsp;doses of Pfizer jabs</h2>
<p>European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen said that talks were underway with Pfizer/BioNTech for a new contract for 1.8 billion doses of COVID-19 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 agency.</p>
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Federal Reserve in its latest Beige Book released on Wednesday says growth is strongest in manufacturing, construction, and leisure and hospitality

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

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

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