Regional Matters

Data on dual enrollment programs is limited, but through the Richmond Fed's Survey of Community Colleges Outcomes, we now have a better understanding of how Fifth District community colleges serve high school students and how these students perform.

Proposal submissions are now open for the 2024 Investing in Rural America Conference poster session! In this post, we invite you on a virtual tour of posters from our 2023 conference to learn about the ways rural communities are addressing economic challenges.

Firms are planning to maintain or increase their workforce in 2024, despite persistent hiring challenges and a recent downturn in short-run expectations. But how would this change if demand decreased unexpectedly?

In order to observe Fifth District community college outcomes, we decided to collect consistent data that would enable us to calculate a new success metric: the Richmond Fed Community College Success Rate.

Results from our 2023 CDFI Survey show that a majority of CDFIs nationwide and in the Fifth District would like to offer additional products or services but currently lack the resources to provide them on a sustained basis.

After a few months of positive readings, results from our business surveys turned downward in October. Still, firms are holding steady on hiring plans, at least for now.

We regularly report the quantitative results from the Richmond Fed business surveys, but participants' comments also provide useful context for changes in local business conditions.

In addition to differences in housing affordability, rural Fifth District households experience differences in housing quality by tenure and income.

In this article, we look at labor market activity within the Capital Beltway over the past three years to assess what might be contributing to the slower growth north of the Potomac River.

The STEM East initiative aims to show students in eastern North Carolina how they can stay and thrive in their home communities.