Economic activity in the Greater Boston area and throughout New England improved modestly in the first quarter this year, according to the Federal Reserve’s most recent Beige Book report.

The report, which came out this week, is based on interviews with area business leaders across various sectors. While this Beige Book generally paints a more optimistic picture over the previous report, released in March, some industries attributed slow or modest growth to weather-related factors. That’s no stretch, given that winter 2012 was unusually mild, while this year winter dragged on and some areas remained frostbitten well into March and April. 

Tourism activity, for example, drooped during the first quarter, a lag that the Fed chalked up to both Jack Frost and generally sluggish activity in that sector between January and March.

And some contacts expressed trepidation about residential housing during the first quarter of the year, largely attributing the slow growth to dwindling inventory and noting that buyer demand has remained strong and median sale prices have increased over the same time last year.

On the other hand, commercial real estate contacts were largely optimistic, especially in the Boston area, where the Fed’s contacts reported a strong office leasing market and declining vacancy rate in recent months. And in Hartford, contacts who spoke to the Fed speculated that the state government’s purchase of a large downtown office tower could boost business sentiment and put upward pressure on rents.

Manufacturing also painted a rosier picture, with more than half of respondents reporting an improved demand for their products compared with the first quarter of 2012. The Fed noted that the two firms it surveyed who reported the strongest growth were in the health care sector. Those two firms also reported the most robust hiring patterns, increasing staff by as much as 15 to 18 percent.