Why are hospitals in rural areas closing at a higher rate, and what are the consequences for these communities?

The Richmond Fed looks at the economic impact of the opioid crisis in the Fifth District.

Labor force participation took a big hit from the pandemic. How then should we interpret states’ reported unemployment rates?

This article provides some history on the evolution of the Fifth District population across race and the rural-urban continuum since the late 1800s.

Fifth District business surveys indicate that after a volatile year, firms remain uncertain about when or if they will return to pre-COVID levels of business activity.

Between mid-March and early April, more than 360,000 Virginians filed for unemployment. What does this mean for employment measures and the state's economy?

As the COVID-19 pandemic spreads across the country, Americans are taking measures to distance themselves from their communities, both voluntarily and by mandate. What measures have Fifth District jurisdictions taken and what might this mean for the Fifth District economy?

On March 13, 2020, the President declared a national state of emergency and by March 16, every state and the District of Columbia had declared states of emergency, all due to the rapid escalation of positive cases of COVID-19. However, Fifth District firms were reporting impacts from the virus before the emergency declarations and the initiation of social distancing mandates in states and localities across the country.

In April, we surveyed firms about their adoption of technology and how it might translate into prices and employment in the next few years. Most firms reported adopting new technology, although many did not anticipate the technology to notably impact their pricing or employment decisions.

The Fifth District economy has been increasingly driven by urban areas. How do we understand the existence, growth and decline of cities?

Fifth District states — especially West Virginia — are struggling with the opioid epidemic as drug use and opioid overdose deaths continue to rise.

The Richmond Fed publishes a series of diffusion indices based off of surveys of manufacturing and service sector firms across the Fifth District. These indices help us to understand business conditions in our region in a timely and more comprehensive way.

There are 12 Federal Reserve Banks across the country: How did one land in Richmond, Virginia?