Regional Matters

Uneven access to or use of broadband results in a digital divide. But how serious is the digital divide across the country and in the Fifth District? It depends on who you ask.

Although firms in the Fifth District received approximately $129 billion in contracts from the federal government in fiscal year 2018, some of those contracts span several years or were subcontracted out. How much did firms receive after adjusting for those factors? 

The labor force participation rate varies considerably across Fifth District jurisdictions, from West Virginia's 53.3 percent to the District of Columbia's 70.4 percent. What is driving the differences among jurisdictions? 

Recently revised payroll employment data for 2018 showed that fewer jobs were added in the Fifth District than originally reported. The largest downward revisions occurred with data for North Carolina, West Virginia, and Virginia. 

As of December 2018, unemployment rates declined in every county and independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia from December 2017. But how do the most recent rates compare with previous lows?

According to a survey conducted in November 2018, many Fifth District businesses plan on increasing employment in the next year and are generally offering higher starting wages for at least some job types.

Although changes in educational attainment, employment status, and median earnings were inconsistent across Fifth District jurisdictions in 2017, most saw lower unemployment and higher median earnings.

By 2016, after the passage of the ACA and expansions to Medicaid, the share of the population with insurance increased in every state in the Fifth District. However, those improvements were not evenly distributed across states or counties and were more substantial in states where Medicaid was expanded.

In June 2018, the Richmond Fed asked its survey participants about the expected impacts of the tariffs imposed on imported steel and aluminum. While about half of the firms surveyed expected negative impacts to their own businesses and to the U.S. economy, there was a good portion of firms that believed the tariffs would be good for the overall U.S. economy, even if their firms would not directly benefit.

Ride-sharing services, such as Uber and Lyft, have become a force to be reckoned with in the taxi industry. While these services have run into regulatory spats with government agencies and continue to deal with company image issues, they have grown markedly, particularly in and around the Washington, D.C., metro area.