16 Things Economic Developers Need to Know This Week

Happy Thursday! Don't forget about time change this weekend. Your phone won't.

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1) Good news: Sitehunt is launching Monday 3/11.

In case you didn't know: Sitehunt is a new tool that I've been developing that will transform how economic developers interact with their buildings and sites. It's about cutting through clutter during critical RFI responses, knowing more than the site selection consultants, and maintaining a strategic edge by understanding your assets inside and out. Say goodbye to being sidelined and hello to project wins. Sign up to be notified when it goes live.

2) Why are there suddenly so many car washes? Fueled by private equity and a subscription-based business model, the auto wash industry is flooding the US with new outlets.

3) 89% of US household debt is fixed rate (mortgage, student, and auto loans) and 11% is floating rate (credit cards, HELOC, and other types of debt):

4) The ADP private payrolls estimate showed 140k jobs created in February, which was slightly below expectations:

5) January's job openings were slightly lower than those reported in December.

This chart shows job openings per unemployed person.

And here is the Beveridge curve. Both indicators suggest that the labor market is still tight.

6) Unfortunately, American's are getting less sleep:

7) Educational requirements are gradually disappearing from job postings: A majority (52%) of US job postings on Indeed did not mention any formal education requirement as of January 2024, up from 48% at the same time in 2019:

8) The states with the highest and lowest home owner insurance rates:

9) The ISM manufacturing PMI unexpectedly moved deeper into contraction territory last month:

Dragged lower by inventories and employment:

10) US residential construction spending declined for the first time in 13 months in January:

11) However: manufacturing construction spending continues to climb.

12) Pending home sales were at multi-year lows in January:

13) America's top executives are strikingly more confident about the economy, with expectations of stronger sales and capital investments:

14) Time for rising gas pump prices:

15) How dangerous is it, really?

16) Gone are the days of nagging everyone to spring forward this weekend. Here's your updated, chuckle-worthy nudge: Come Sunday morning, you'll lose an hour while you snooze, and guess what? Your smartphone's already in on the joke.