The St. Louis regional economy is improving, and business leaders think things are looking up, according to a generally cheery report from the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis.

“Optimism improved markedly among St. Louis zone business contacts” in May, the Fed said Tuesday in its quarterly pulse-read on an area consisting of eastern and southern Missouri and Southern Illinois.

On the upside, the Fed found the unemployment rate falling faster here than in the rest of the nation. The St. Louis area unemployment rate was 4.9 percent in April.

Half of the Fed’s business contacts have raised wages “slightly.” About a third report trouble hiring qualified employees.

The broader region gained jobs over the past year in every category except manufacturing and “information,” a group that includes news media, publishing and broadcasting.

Manufacturers blamed the 0.8 percent job decline on falling orders from the troubled energy industry, while the strong dollar and economic troubles overseas squeezed exports.