Regional Matters

December 2017 marked the 10-year anniversary of the start of the economic downturn which would ultimately evolve into the Great Recession. As bad as the Great Recession was nationally, South Carolina's descent into the trough was steeper. And its recovery has been more impressive, particularly in the Charleston and Upstate regions.

Beginning with the release of our February 2018 survey results, we began to report a few new variables in our Fifth District Survey of Manufacturing Activity and Fifth District Survey of Service Sector Activity. What are they and what can they tell us?

In 2016, every Fifth District jurisdiction, along with the nation, saw an increase in the share of the over-25 population with a bachelor’s degree or higher. What else changed since 2015?

Ten years after the housing market collapse, activity in the single-family market remains somewhat subdued. Despite rising prices and low inventories, single-family construction has increased very gradually. Are there impediments to new housing supply?

A November 2017 survey of Fifth District businesses found that most firms plan on increasing hiring in the next year as well as raising wages to attract and retain workers, though not for all positions.

Payroll employment growth in eastern North Carolina has been more sluggish than in other parts of the state, on the whole, for the last several years. To learn more about why, the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond worked with NCEast Alliance to facilitate a business and industry roundtable meeting in late October.

For the most part, the effects of Hurricanes Harvey and Irma on Fifth District firms were indirect and negative, although there were some businesses that reported positive economic impacts.

The Fifth District economy – like the U.S. economy – is increasingly driven by urban areas. How can we start to understand the existence, growth, and decline of cities in the context of Richmond, Va., Charlotte, N.C., and Baltimore, Md.?