21 Things Economic Developers Need to Know This Week
The stories Dane thinks you need to see. December 18, 2025 edition.
Table of Contents
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 21 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!
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1) Economic Development and Developers in the News # 225 - Econ dev news from 74 economic development executives and organizations in 21 states.
2) January Is for Fresh Starts (and Better RFIs) - A better moment to look at how you respond to RFIs
3) Podcast 202: How Community Colleges Power Statewide Economic Development with John Loyack - Ribbon cuttings are easy—staffing the plant is the sport
4) 27 New Economic Development Jobs This Week - From $43,509 - $269,591
5) 28 Things Economic Developers Need to Know This Week - The stories Dane thinks you need to see. December 11, 2025 edition.
6) Gen Z is defiantly 'giving up' on ever owning a home and is spending more than saving, working less, and making risky investments, a new study shows.
7) Now that the government has stopped minting pennies, retailers and restaurants that tend to do a lot of cash business want the federal government to come up with a standard for rounding: "To round in the customer's favor consistently could cost the industry between $13 and $14 million a month," said Sean Kennedy with the National Restaurant Association.
8) Instacart is using AI algorithms to charge customers different prices for the same items. The scary part? It's not just online. It's in physical grocery stores, too.
9) November's business formation statistics are out from the Census Bureau. Business Applications for November 2025, adjusted for seasonal variation, were 535,041, an increase of 7.1 percent compared to October 2025.
10) Sports betting tax revenues have skyrocketed in recent years as more states got in on the action. Sports better generates a lot of state tax revenue: The national total of state sales tax revenue from sports betting soared 382%, from $190 million in the third quarter of 2021 (when data collection began) to $917 million in the second quarter of 2025.
11) A look at the space economy:
12) Share of middle-class families that can afford basic necessities in 160 US metro areas.
The Econ Dev Show is made possible by Sitehunt.
Sitehunt (created the Econ Dev Show's host Dane Carlson) will not replace your relationships, manage your BR&E visits, or do your board politics. It will not invent workforce where none exists, and it will not make you sound smart after one login. Wit and wisdom are still on you.
But if you care about your buildings and sites, and getting the RFI out the door with confidence, Sitehunt may be the smartest small investment you make this year.
13) Public Domain Day: On January 1, 2026, thousands of copyrighted works from 1930 enter the US public domain, along with sound recordings from 1925. They will be free for all to copy, share, and build upon. The literary highlights range from William Faulkner's As I Lay Dying to Agatha Christie's The Murder at the Vicarage and the first four Nancy Drew novels. From cartoons and comic strips, the characters Betty Boop, Pluto (originally named Rover), and Blondie and Dagwood made their first appearances. Films from the year featured Marlene Dietrich, Greta Garbo, the Marx Brothers, and John Wayne in his first leading role. Among the public domain compositions are I Got Rhythm, Georgia on My Mind, and Dream a Little Dream of Me. We are also celebrating paintings from Piet Mondrian and Paul Klee.
14) A look at data center infrastructure in the United States from November 2025:
Here's the map from May. Notice that the size of the bubbles has in the legend increased 5x (from 2,400 MW to 10,400 MW.)
15) Year-over-year inflation has been stable. Month-over-month inflation fluctuated, softening in October and rising in November, before ticking down this month:
16) The US Weekly Economic Index edged up:
17) The Dallas Fed's Daily News Sentiment Index turned positive for the first time since late August:
18) The trade deficit unexpectedly shrank to its lowest level since mid-2020, as exports rose far more than imports:
19) Wholesale inventories rose more than expected:
20) Where home prices have risen fastest in North America:
21) Almost 28% of high-income consumers reported shopping at discount stores this year, up from 20% four years ago:
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