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A classic rule of thumb used to define a recession is that the economy is in recession when it experiences two consecutive quarters of negative GDP growth. The U.S. economy met this definition in the first half of 2022, contracting 1.6% in the first quarter and 0.9% in the second. While every recession that has hit the United States in the last century saw a significant increase in unemployment, job growth has been exceptionally strong this year. Jon Hilsenrath of the Wall Street Journal used the expression “jobful downturn” to refer to the current environment. The unusual situation raises the question: how will the impacts of a potential “jobful” recession differ from previous downturns?

The United States added 528,000 jobs in July, outpacing an already strong May and June, and making it likely that the Federal Reserve will continue its policy of large rate hikes. The latest jobs report has allayed recession fears in the short term and clears the way for the Fed to continue hiking interest rates in hopes of halting inflation. There is concern among economists about the impact of additional rate hikes, however. While the jobs report suggests the economy is not currently in recession, tight monetary policy could pose a risk for the future. Rate hikes have already caused higher mortgage and loan rates for consumers and businesses. More hikes will lead to an even higher cost of borrowing. These aggressive rate hikes also ...

Transitioning to employee ownership is a powerful strategy to preserve local businesses and jobs and support economic recovery and resilience. For the last decade, Project Equity has worked closely with numerous regions and economic development partners to unlock the power of employee ownership and create thriving local economies.

Regional Economic Models, Inc. (REMI) recently hosted a webinar with Sondra Collins, PhD, on the fiscal and economic impacts Medicaid expansion would have in Mississippi. With her team, Dr. Collins, senior economist at University Research Center in Mississippi, conducted an analysis of Medicaid expansion from 2022 to 2027. Before digging into the results of the study, it’s important to ask: why is this important? Healthcare spending in the United States comprised roughly 16.8 percent of GDP in 2019, and that number continues to trend upward. Medicaid alone comprises 28.7 percent of state budgets on average, so understanding the economic and fiscal impacts of any sort of change to Medicaid is important for understanding state ...

On April 1, Amazon employees in Staten Island, N.Y., voted to unionize in a monumental first for the warehouse giant’s workers. Two more Amazon union elections are underway in Alabama, with at least one being too close to call and requiring a recount. The Amazon labor victory renews the debate over whether unions help or hinder economic growth and overall development. Historically, unions promoted economic equality and built worker power, helping employees to win increases in pay, better benefits, and safer working conditions. Unions have been shown to increase income and economic protections and improve health and personal well-being as well as democratic well-being. Unions primarily strive to give workers the power to improve not ...

Despite recording the lowest job growth since September, the U.S. economy “continues to have underlying momentum,” according to economist Vincent Reinhart. The growth shrunk unemployment to 3.6 percent—the lowest since the pandemic began—in the midst of Russian aggression against Ukraine, the highest inflation in 40 years, and the ongoing effects of the pandemic. In March alone, 418,000 people began searching for employment and hiring gains were made in restaurants and bars (+61,000), retail (+49,000), manufacturing (+38,000), hospitality (+25,000), and construction (+19,000). The gains for construction signify a return to pre-pandemic levels for the sector. U.S. Secretary of Labor Marty Walsh touted wage and ...

At IEDC’s 2022 Leadership Summit, Right to Start CEO Victor Hwang spoke about how to encourage entrepreneurship and increase startup growth in cities across the United States. He presented startling facts about U.S. startups, barriers entrepreneurs face, and actions to end the “startup slump”. Hwang pointed out several aspects of startups and entrepreneurship that policymakers often miss. For one, startups and young businesses are not just clustered in the tech sector, but can be found in nearly every business area. These businesses account for a large portion of U.S. net job growth and are major contributors to real GDP and wage growth. Hwang also emphasized that the number of U.S. startups has dropped significantly in ...

Each new year brings new leadership to IEDC’s board of directors. Todd Greene, CEcD, institute fellow at the Urban Institute and executive director of WorkRise, will serve as IEDC’s board chair in 2022.