Thursday, November 5, 2009

Possible Good Economic News for Tennessee

According to an analysis by the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia, Tennessee is one of 7 states that has demonstrated an improvement over the last three month period in an economic index compiled by the bank. The bank developed a "conincident index" that creates a single statistic out of four factors used to determine economic conditions. The four state-level variables in each coincident index are nonfarm payroll employment, average hours worked in manufacturing, the unemployment rate, and wage and salary disbursements deflated by the consumer price index (U.S. city average). The trend for each state’s index is set to the trend of its gross domestic product (GDP), so long-term growth in the state’s index matches long-term growth in its GDP. For the Federal Reserve bank's analysis, click here.

A separate report by Stateline.org shows that 11 states and the District of Columbia are emerging from recession and that only Nevada is still in deep recession. Unfortunately Tennessee is not yet among those 11. The Stateline analysis can be found here. It is based on a Moody's analysis that includes an interactive "Recovery Status" map. The map can be found here. This map connects to a wealth of data. It shows Tennessee as "moderating." Clicking on the state on the map opens a forecast and a link to more information for ten metropolitan areas in the state. Of the ten, 9 are moderating and the Cleveland metropolitan area is listed as "recovering."

These reports are highly technical, but I offer them as a source of info for any county officials wanting to more closely track economic trends in our state and their communities.

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