Wade Wire
3rd Quarter Economic Data Mostly Positive, But Spike in Local Unemployment is a Concern
I released my report on the health of the economy for the 3rd quarter of 2016, and while the news was mostly positive, a sharp spike in local unemployment is worth keeping an eye on. Click here to read a summary of the report and here to read the complete report.
Good News, Bad News in 1st Quarter 2016 Wade Wire
I released my quarterly report on the health of our economy earlier today, and while the news at the national level was not good, there were some encouraging signs of growth at the local level. The local economy showed year-over-year gains in every category of data I measured. Unemployment dropped again in…
Q4 2015 Wade Wire
National Economy Slows in 4th Quarter, but Local Economy Holds Steady I released my quarterly report on the health of the economy earlier today, and it can be found by clicking here. A summary of the full report can be found by clicking here. In short, while the national economy slowed during the 4th…
Q3 2015 Wade Wire
I just released my Third Quarter 2015 report on the health of our economy, and in general, the news was positive. For instance, unemployment rates fell dramatically in both Lucas County (from 5.7% to 4.5%) and Toledo (from 6.3% to 4.9%) from September 2014 to September 2015. New car sales remained robust and appear…
Q2 2015 Wade Wire
After several quarters of generally positive news about the economy, the picture was somewhat cloudy for the 2nd quarter of 2015 — both locally and nationally. The economy continued to add jobs and unemployment continued to fall; but wages continued to lag, construction fell, and auto sales stalled. My quarterly…
Q1 2015 Wade Wire
I just released my report on the health of our economy for the First Quarter of 2015, and the results were somewhat mixed. The local economy posted year-over-year gains in nearly all of the data I measured. Unemployment dropped again in both Toledo (from 7.7% to 6.5%) and Lucas County…
Q4 2014 Wade Wire
Although the nation’s economic expansion slowed somewhat from the torrid pace of the previous six months, the Commerce Department recently reported that U.S. GDP grew by 2.6% in the fourth quarter of 2014.1 And while there were indications of significant drags on the country’s economy during the last stanza (mostly…
Q3 2014 Wade Wire
My last report suggested that any lingering early-year doubts about the essential health of the recovery were likely dispelled when the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) reported that the U.S. economy grew by a healthy 4.0% in the second quarter.1 Subsequent revisions ultimately measured second quarter growth at an even…
Q2 2014 Wade Wire
As my last report suggested, just when the national economy appeared to have gathered and maintained some encouraging momentum to end last year, the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) initially estimated U.S. first quarter 2014 GDP at near-zero growth (0.1%),1 once again disappointing investors and rekindling a debate about the…
Q1 2014 Wade Wire
As our last report suggested, the economy overcame significant hurdles to end 2013 on a relatively high note. Then the Bureau of Economic Analysis released a recent report showing that national GDP growth was near stagnant at 0.1% for first quarter 2014. 2014 · First Quarter Highlights Local Economic Outlook…
Q4 2013 Wade Wire
Local Economic Outlook Continues to Improve. Buoyed by the sustained strength of the automotive sector, steady consumer spending, and an emerging homebuilding and construction trend, our local and national economies continued to improve through the fourth quarter of 2013.
Q3 2013 Wade Wire
Local Economy Better Off Today Than 2012 With relatively few and intermittent exceptions, the local economic indicators we’ve tracked for both Third Quarter 2013 (Q3/13) and throughout the year suggest that our current economy, taken as a whole, is better off now than it was a year ago. In particular,…