The FED Said The coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has had a shockingly large and swift impact on the U.S. economy since mid-March. And the initial coordinated federal response to the virus was, perhaps, equally swift, as Congress passed the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act by the end of March. Further evidence of the speed of […] Read more
The FED Said The Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta’s new Beige Book report details the coronavirus pandemic’s far-reaching economic toll across the Southeast. Contacts in the Sixth Federal Reserve District said economic activity continued to decline from April to early May. Almost no sector was spared. Pay cuts and reduced hours were widespread. Tourism and hospitality contacts […] Read more
The FED Said Economic activity in the Southeast dropped sharply from the middle of February through March as the COVID-19 pandemic spurred business shutdowns and job losses, according to the Federal Reserve’s latest Beige Book report on regional economic conditions. Across the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta’s coverage area, which includes the states of Alabama, Florida, Georgia, […] Read more
The FED Said Workforce CurrentsStuart AndreasonMarch 18, 2020 As coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) spreads around the world and across the United States, many policymakers and public health officials are encouraging employers to tell workers to work remotely or to stay home when they or their family members are sick. There are significant questions, though, about how […] Read more
The FED Said Despite a generally robust economy, skills training is critical amid long-term and cyclical labor force challenges For years, Goodwill of North Georgia ran a successful program training unemployed and underemployed people in highway construction. That made sense: during the 1980s and ’90s, metropolitan Atlanta added about 1,000 lane-miles of freeways. When highway […] Read more
The FED Said An unfavorable Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) rating from the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta led to improved operations at BBVA (formerly BBVA Compass Bank). The year was 2013, and the Atlanta Fed was evaluating the Alabama-based bank’s performance with the CRA, a 1977 law intended to encourage banks to meet the credit needs […] Read more
The FED Said Disparities in executive function skills by socioeconomic status are observed by the time children reach age two Research from a number of disciplines provides evidence that disparities in early experiences are often correlated with family income or parental education. Recent work by Stephanie Carlson and colleagues shows that gaps in measures of […] Read more
The FED Said “Location, location, location” is a truism associated with residential real estate. What we’re hearing from our construction contacts could be another sort of truism: “Labor, lumber, lots.” They are referring to the ongoing tight labor market in the construction trades, the skyrocketing price of lumber, and the difficulty of obtaining lots on […] Read more
The FED Said The share of the prime-age population engaged in the U.S. labor market is on the rise, led by a sharp rebound in the labor force participation (LFP) rate by prime-age female workers (those ages 25–54). This point was highlighted in a recent Wall Street Journal article. Since 2015 the LFP rate for prime-age women […] Read more
The FED Said Amid a largely positive Beige Book report on economic conditions in the Southeast, some small businesses report particular challenges competing with larger companies for a dwindling pool of available workers. Across the board, businesses continued to report pressure to increase wages for low-skill, hourly jobs, notably in the hospitality and retail industries. That’s good […] Read more
The FED Said Some of the most important forces that have molded Miami, economically and otherwise, emanated from outside Florida and even the United States. The evolution that largely produced today’s south Florida metropolis began 60 years ago. When Communists seized power in Cuba in 1959, a wave of exiles fled north, beginning a continuing […] Read more
The FED Said As concerns about widening gaps in income and wealth permeate economic policy discussion, the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta assembled some of the field’s leading thinkers to explore the roots of inequality from various perspectives. When considering a topic as complex as inequality, economists and policymakers advance numerous questions such as the […] Read more
The FED Said Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta Summary of Economic Activity Reports from Sixth District business contacts described economic conditions as expanding at a moderate pace since the previous report. The majority of contacts are optimistic and expect the pace to continue for the remainder of the year. The labor market remained tight amid […] Read more
The FED Said In October 2017, Amazon ignited a frenzy among economic developers. When the company announced plans to open a second North American headquarters and staff it with 50,000 high-paying jobs, more than 200 cities, counties, and states made formal bids. Many jurisdictions promised publicly financed incentives—packages of tax breaks, free land, grants, and […] Read more
The FED Said The latest U.S. jobs reports shows that employment growth remains strong in the United States, helping push the unemployment rate to its lowest level in nearly 50 years. Although employment growth in the Southeast generally mirrors national trends, a look below the hood shows that the jobs recovery from the Great Recession has been […] Read more