15 Things Economic Developers Need to Know This Week
The stories Dane thinks you need to see. November 12, 2026 edition.
Welcome to this week's issue of What Economic Developers Need to Know This Week, where we explore the evolving dynamics of our economy.
This week we have 15 tools, stories, graphics, charts and videos that I think you'll find informative, useful, inspiring, and perhaps even humorous. Some are economic development related directly, and some only indirectly.
If you're wondering what to do with the info in this newsletter, send something to your board members. It will make you look good!
Today's email is brought to you by Resource Development Group
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This week on the Econ Dev Show
1) Economic development around the country: 35 stories from 23 states. Projects, people, and organizations in this week’s news roundup.
2) Child care and your workforce: Capacity, hours, and cost all matter. Nicole Riehl explains what employers and economic developers can do on Podcast 242.
3) Who’s hiring: 34 economic development jobs across 17 states and remote roles. Browse the openings, from analysts to CEOs.
Jobs, prices, and workforce
4) October’s jobs report: 165,000 more payroll jobs; unemployment at 4.1%. Professional and business services led the gains. BLS report
5) The working share varies by state: 90.5% in Nebraska; 77.2% in West Virginia. The share of men ages 25 to 54 employed or serving in the armed forces, from the 2024 Census survey.
6) New commuting data: OnTheMap now includes 2024 jobs. Draw your own study area and see where workers live and work. Alaska and Michigan workers are excluded from this release. Census notes
7) Northwest Florida’s military talent: A study estimated 5,200 annual separations. Jennifer Conoley explains how the region updated its workforce numbers. That’s a starting pool, not a ready-to-hire headcount. Listen
8) October inflation: Prices rose 0.4%; excluding food and energy, 0.3%. Missing October 2025 observations prevent most year-over-year comparisons. BLS report
9) Home equity borrowing jumped: A $23 billion quarterly increase, the largest since 2005. That’s the change in outstanding home equity lines in the New York Fed’s third-quarter report.
Sitehunt helps economic developers find, understand, enrich and market their sites, match them to projects, and respond with confidence in minutes instead of scrambling for days.
Maps and local investment
10) The 2027 Opportunity Zone map: 6,576 designated tracts, including 2,594 rural tracts. The new designations take effect January 1. Explore the map · Treasury’s official announcement
11) Florida’s changing tax base: Voters approved Amendment 3. Larger homestead exemptions and tighter non-homestead assessment limits will change local revenue calculations. Sam Blatt’s breakdown · Election results
12) Small businesses, mapped: Business density, openings, and 20 years of county trends. Dell Gines’ interactive tools explore rural businesses and Black-owned businesses. The rural series runs through 2023.
Housing and the places we build
13) What does an energy-code update cost? Three studies, very different estimates. Brian Potter compares the research. Below: estimates for the 2021 energy-code changes, by climate zone.
14) Builders are discounting: 43% cut prices; 65% used sales incentives. Results from the October national builder survey. The two groups overlap.
15) Windows are absurd: Watch what coatings, panes, and frames do to heat. Practical Engineering makes window performance visible. Transcript
