A summary of economic conditions in the Seventh District from the latest release of the Beige Book and from other indicators of regional business activity: Overall conditions: Growth in economic activity in the Seventh District remained moderate in September, and contacts maintained their optimistic outlook for the rest of the year. Consum... Read More

A common trait among economists is that they rarely agree on anything. However, the latest survey of economic experts by the Initiative on Global Markets of the University of Chicago’s Booth School of Business found unanimity on the value of infrastructure to the economy. When the 44 participants were presented with the proposition, “Because the U.S. has underspent on new projects, mainte... Read More

In August 2014, the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) published prototype quarterly estimates of gross state product (GSP). In releasing this quarterly supplement to its existing semiannual releases of annual GSP, the BEA noted that the availability of higher-frequency information on state output should help researchers to better understand national and regional business cycles. ... Read More

Recently released data on U.S. foreign trade for July from the U.S. Census Bureau and U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) show an improvement in exports of U.S. goods. On a month-over-month basis, exports increased $1.8 billion, to $138.6 billion. This rise in exports—which helps to narrow the trade deficit—points to a stronger pace of U.S. gross domestic product (GDP) growth for the t... Read More

In a recent Chicago Fed Letter, Scott Brave and Thomas Walstrum discuss a business conditions survey that the Chicago Fed has been conducting in conjunction with the Beige Book since March 2013. To measure economic activity in the Seventh District, they construct a set of diffusion indexes based on survey responses (which are explained in greater detail in the article itself). Brave and ... Read More

There is no question that the U.S. labor market has been gradually but steadily healing after the Great Recession. The national unemployment rate peaked at 10% in October 2009, but it has since fallen to 6.2% (as of July 2014). The nation experienced a net loss of 8.7 million jobs during the downturn, and finally finished making up for those job losses just this past May. So, undeniably, ... Read More

This last blog in our series on the largest cities in the Chicago Fed's District focuses on Chicago. (For a complete profile of all five cities, see Industrial clusters and economic development in the Seventh District's largest cities.) Chicago holds a different place in the urban hierarchy than the other large cities in the District. More than just a large midwestern city, Chicago has ob... Read More

Detroit is the focus of this blog examining economic development issues in the five largest cities in the Chicago Fed's District. (For a complete profile of all five cities. see Industrial clusters and economic development in the Seventh District's largest cities). Relative to the other large cities, Detroit faces some special challenges. Home to the domestic auto industry, Detroit grew a... Read More

Milwaukee is the focus of this third blog examining the economic structure and development plans of the five largest cities in the Seventh Federal Reserve District. (For a complete profile of all five cities see, Industrial clusters and economic development in the Seventh District's largest cities.) Milwaukee grew up as a manufacturing city and was famed for its beer industry. Today manuf... Read More

This is a second in a series of blogs that highlights findings from an upcoming Economic Perspectives article on economic development efforts and industry trends in the largest metropolitan areas in the Seventh District. (For a complete profile of all five cities see, Industrial clusters and economic development in the Seventh District's largest cities.) This blog focuses on Indianapolis.... Read More