Covering Your Local Economy: It's Everybody's Business
In 2013 …
Marilyn Geewax NPR Senior Business Editor
[email protected] @geewaxnpr
Geewax Marilyn
Akron Beacon Journal
The Atlanta Journal-‐Cons4tu4on
Cox Washington Bureau
NPR
Geewax Marilyn
• Currently senior business editor for NPR’s National Desk
• She was the national economics correspondent for Cox Newspapers’ Washington Bureau.
• Prior to 1999, worked for the Cox flagship paper, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
• Geewax earned a master’s degree at Georgetown University, where she focused on international economic affairs.
• From 2001 to 2006, Geewax taught a business journalism class as an adjunct professor at George Washington University.
What We Will Explore Today
• The Great Recession – What Happened? • How Are We Doing Now? • What Is Driving the Recovery? • What's Likely to Happen Next? • Can You Tell If Your Area Is Doing Better
Or Worse Than the Rest of the USA?
Six Years of Troubles
Try to Remember… • Think Back to 2007. • Did You Realize Then That The U.S.
Economy Was Tanking?
You Rarely Know What’s Happening in Such a Big Economy
The slowdown in the housing sector “is a concern, but at this point we don't see it as being a broad financial concern or a major factor in assessing the course of the economy.” -- Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke Speaking to the House in Feb. 2007.
2008 Was A Brutal Year For The Gross Domestic Product
Bureau of Economic Analysis data
Unemployment Shot Up, Then Drifted Down
http://data.bls.gov/timeseries/LNS14000000
Searching for Work For Months – The Key Problem
So Where Are We Now? Based On What You're Seeing, What's Likely To Happen Next?
• A recession • A boom • Slow growth • I don’t know.
.
What Happen In The First Half of 2013?
Q. Another Slump? Or A Boom? A. Most economists say the economy has
been growing, but at a sluggish pace.
http://data.bls.gov/timeseri
Jobless Rate – The Key Number • 7.4 percent today, which is lousy • But in October 2009, it was 10 percent
Nearly 12 Million Still Searching For Jobs
Nearly 5 million are Long-Term Unemployed
But We Have Good News, Too
Jobs Are Returning In Many Sectors And the Economy Has Been Growing For
Four Years
3.8 Million Job Openings – Mostly For Skilled Workers
GDP Is At Least Steady
New-Home Sales Up Sharply from the Same Time Last Year
Some Economists Think 2014 Could Bring Much Better Growth
Three reasons: 1. Energy Expansion 2. Agriculture Boom 3. Construction Resumption
Booming Oil Industry Struggling to Fill Job Openings
Farmers Have Been Adding Land
Abby Fentress Swanson/Harvest Public Media
New-Home Sales Create Jobs for Landscapers, Furniture Stores, Etc.
How Can You Tell If Your Area Is Doing Better?
• Jobs, Jobs, Jobs (BLS.gov) • Home Prices (S&P/Case-Shiller Index) • Home Foreclosures (RealtyTrac) • Local Bankers (Is Lending Improving?) • Local Car Dealers (What Are People
Buying? Trucks for Work??)
America Will Recover When Jobs Come Back
