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IEDC’s recently released white paper What We’ve Learned From Covid-19 contains best practices for EDOs looking to build their resilience to pandemics and other disasters. The paper is one component of a larger project funded by the U.S. Economic Development Administration and the culmination of 18 months tracking the pandemic responses of eight communities.

The latest economic data show some U.S. cities slowly bouncing back from the Covid doldrums. But a longer-term problem looms in 2022 and beyond for the nation’s urban centers. At issue is that many of the nation’s downtowns, large and small, are in danger of hollowing out and transforming into ghost towns as the tsunami of the pandemic recedes and workers across the nation demand remote work as a staple of employment. “We forecast that 25 to 30 percent of the U.S. workforce will be working-from-home one or more days a week after the pandemic,” said Kate Lister, president of Global Workplace Analytics, which tracks attitudes about remote working. That percentage could grow even more over time. The group estimates ...

Montgomery County, Md., is a 500-square-mile county with 1.05 million people adjacent to Washington, D.C. The county has many strong assets, including federal labs and agencies, a thriving life science sector, and an incredibly diverse and well-educated population. One of its strongest assets is its breadth of strong, business-focused organizations that communicate effectively with one another. As in other communities, the pandemic hit industries such as hospitality, retail, restaurants, and entertainment particularly hard, and the county hit a historic unemployment high in April 2020. Montgomery County Economic Development Corporation (MCEDC), in close collaboration with Montgomery County government, WorkSource Montgomery (WSM), Visit ...

The Michigan Economic Development Corporation (MEDC) strives to enable upward economic mobility for every Michigander by building a champion economy in the state. During the pandemic this core mission has allowed us to respond with agility to expand existing programs and develop specific relief efforts while keeping our attention on the future economic needs of the state. Through our efforts we have been able to support more than 25,000 companies of all sizes in retaining more than 200,000 jobs for Michiganders while solidifying a foundation for future recovery and growth. As Covid transitions from pandemic to endemic, we are prepared for the opportunity to rebuild our state in a way that works for everyone. Through Governor ...

The pandemic has forced government officials, policymakers, and economics professionals around the world to confront a chicken-or-egg dilemma: Which comes first, health or the economy? With countries worldwide experiencing a vicious cycle of lockdowns, reopenings, Covid surges, and more lockdowns, should officials pursue policies to stabilize (or stimulate) the economy first or combat the pandemic first?

Despite high expectations from economists for job growth, with estimates forecasting more than 700,000 new jobs, the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ August report shocked and disappointed. Total nonfarm payroll employment rose by only 235,000 jobs, with unemployment falling by 0.2 percentage points to 5.2 percent. Losses were largest in services industries, with restaurants and bars cutting 42,000 jobs, while retailers cut 29,000 jobs. Notable growth was seen in professional and business services (+74,000), transportation and warehousing (+53,000), private education (+40,000), and manufacturing (+37,000). A large consensus points to the new surge in Covid-19 cases, brought on by the more infectious delta variant, which has sparked fear ...

The U.S. restaurant industry has seen numerous changes since the start of the pandemic. First came lockdown with takeout only, then capacity limits with outdoor dining and indoor masking. With some restaurants now reverting back to early-pandemic restrictions because of the delta variant, the industry has proven its ability to remain resilient and roll with the punches. But as COVID-19 infections continue to trend upward, more people across the country are deciding to stay home. According to a Business Insider article, restaurant reservations on OpenTable fell by 30 percent in some of the hardest-hit states during the first week of August. Furthermore, almost one in five U.S. adults surveyed in mid-August said they had stopped going to ...

IEDC recently hosted a webinar to discuss opportunities for local economic recovery post-COVID. The webinar leveraged the latest location data from Placer.ai to analyze migration patterns during the pandemic. Placer.ai collects anonymized location data by tracking mobile devices. The data suggests that there were small yet significant shifts in June 2021 compared to June 2019. States such as Florida, Arizona, and North Carolina witnessed a positive state-level change while other states such as California, New York, and Illinois saw a decline. The varied level of change could be due to tax structure and the availability of resources such as childcare and education. The demographics of cities and suburbs may be changing as a result of the ...