28 Things Economic Developers Need to Know This Week
The stories Dane thinks you need to see. February 27, 2025 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 28 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) A look at domestic flights around the world:
2) Data centers are not real estate:
3) The AI data-center boom is a job-creation bust: Tech and political leaders tout them as an employment bonanza, but data centers need very few workers in very large spaces.
4) Amazon's top-line numbers beat Walmart's this quarter, after the online retailer brought in a record $187.8 billion in sales last quarter, surpassing the $180.6 billion that America's largest grocery store:
5) The Conference Board's consumer sentiment indicator dropped this month:
6) The labor differential index declined:
7) More Americans anticipate fewer job opportunities in the coming months:
8) More Americans expect worsening business conditions:
9) Fewer Americans plan domestic vacations:
10) On the other hand, CEO confidence has been improving:
As you may, or perhaps not know – not only do I publish the Econ Dev Show newsletter and podcast for free every week, but over the past year, I've also been developing a groundbreaking tool for economic development organizations: Sitehunt.
I've been told it's the first truly practical application of AI in economic development.
Your peers agree. In its first year alone, Sitehunt is already being used by EDOs of all sizes across the country.
Here's what it can do:
- Automatically research and enhance your existing buildings and site database--or even create one from scratch.
- Continuously discover new, suitable buildings and sites within your communities to grow your economic development inventory.
- Generate compelling marketing content for your sites.
- Instantly analyze RFIs and match them to your inventory, ensuring you never miss an opportunity from a site selector.
As we approach the end of the year, now is the perfect time to think about 2025. Can I give you a demo? I promise you'll be amazed at what Sitehunt can do.
