Several years ago, the Chicago Fed began providing estimates of annual gross state product (GSP) growth for each of the five states in the Seventh Federal Reserve District.1 The U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) releases annual GSP data for the prior year each June. This post discusses GSP projections for 2015 and presents an alternative forecasting model using quarterly GSP data fro... Read More
First, a (repeat) special announcement: As a Midwest Economy blog reader, you may also want to sign up to follow our new Chicago Fed Survey of Business Conditions (CFSBC), which is a survey of business contacts conducted to support the Seventh Federal Reserve District's contribution to the Beige Book. The Chicago Fed produces diffusion indexes based on the quantitative questions ... Read More
In June of 2015, I wrote a blog post detailing a method called early benchmarking, which predicts how the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) will revise the state payroll employment survey data when it updates its benchmarks each March (the method was first introduced by our colleagues at the Dallas Fed). The primary source of the revisions for state payroll employment (also known as t... Read More
Fiscal analysts and credit rating agencies have criticized Illinois government officials for their fiscal mismanagement, especially the shifting of debt obligations incurred to pay for current services onto future generations. The growth of unfunded public employee pension obligations has been the most egregious example. Moreover, state and local governments have allowed bills for current service... Read More
On January 13, 2016, the Chicago Fed published the inaugural release of its Survey of Business Conditions (CFSBC). This new data product offers a series of diffusion indexes that track a broad set of topics related to the business conditions of firms in the Seventh District: overall activity (or product/service demand), outlook for the U.S. economy, current and planned hiring, current and... Read More
First, a (repeat) special announcement: As a Midwest Economy blog reader, you may also want to sign up to follow our new Chicago Fed Survey of Business Conditions (CFSBC), which is a survey of business contacts conducted to support the Seventh Federal Reserve District's contribution to the Beige Book. The Chicago Fed produces diffusion indexes based on the quantitative questions ... Read More
Please note: this is a cross-post from the Chicago Fed's Michigan Economy blog. On December 4, 2015, the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago hosted its 29th annual Economic Outlook Symposium (EOS). The EOS allows economists, business leaders, financial analysts, and other experts to gather and share their respective views on the U.S. economy and individual sectors especially important... Read More
First, a special announcement: As a Midwest Economy blog reader, you may also want to sign up to follow our new Chicago Fed Survey of Business Conditions (CFSBC), which is a survey of business contacts conducted to support the Seventh Federal Reserve District's contribution to the Beige Book. The Chicago Fed produces diffusion indexes based on the quantitative questions in the su... Read More
As I noted on this blog in February 2015, 2014 was a pretty good year for the Seventh District. Real District gross state product (GSP) grew 1.2%, the unemployment rate fell from 7.3% to 5.8%, and payroll employment grew 1.5%. The strong finish to 2014 led me to feel quite optimistic for how 2015 would turn out. Unfortunately, it has become increasingly clear that economic activity in the... Read More
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 continued at a modest pace in October and early November. Consumer spending: Growth in consumer spending continued at a modest pace, though new and used vehicl... Read More
