(At Least) 5 Local Economic Stories to

Jump On Now

Marilyn Geewax NPR Senior Business Editor

As 2013 begins…

Day One

What We Will Explore Today

•  The 2013 Economy: Another Recession Coming? Or A Boom?

•  What Does President Obama Want? •  What Does the GOP-led House Want? •  What Do Business Groups Want? •  What Does Labor Want? •  Tomorrow: How can you find local

angles?

Five Years of Troubles

Job Losses – The Key Problem

Unemployment Shot Up

http://data.bls.gov/timeseries/LNS14000000

2008 Was A Brutal Year

http://www.tradingeconomics.com/united-states/gdp-growth

Try to Remember…

•  Think Back to January 2008.

•  Did You Realize Then That The U.S. Economy Was Tanking?

You Rarely Know What’s Happening in Such a Big Economy The slowdown in the housing sector “is a concern, but at this point we don't see it as being a broad financial concern or a major factor in assessing the course of the economy.” -- Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke Speaking to the House in February 2007.

POLL QUESTION #1

What’s coming in 2013?

•  A recession •  A boom •  Slow growth •  I don’t know.

Please answer by clicking the radio button on the upcoming screen.

What’s Coming in 2013?

Q. Another Recession? Or A Boom?

A. Most economists say

the economy is growing, but at a sluggish pace.

Jobless Rate – The Key Number

•  7.7 percent today, which is lousy •  But in October 2009, it was 10 percent

http://data.bls.gov/timeseries/LNS14000000

12 Million Unemployed Now Nearly 5 million are Long-Term Unemployed

3.7 Million Job Openings

New-Home Sales Up 15% from the Same Time Last Year

GDP Is Rising

http://www.tradingeconomics.com/united-states/gdp-growth

POLL QUESTION #2

Which state has the lowest unemployment rate?

•  Oregon •  North Dakota •  Virginia •  Nebraska

Please answer by clicking the radio button on the upcoming screen.

Fair To Say the Economy is Uneven, with Huge Regional Differences

•  North Dakota is looking great, with 3.1

percent unemployment.

Oil rig in Williston, N.D., by Flickr user lindsey gee

POLL QUESTION #3

Which state has the highest unemployment rate?

•  California •  Florida •  Nevada •  Arizona

Please answer by clicking the radio button on the upcoming screen.

Fair To Say the Economy is Uneven, with Huge Regional Differences

•  North Dakota is looking great, with 3.1

percent unemployment

•  But in Nevada, the jobless rate remains nearly 11 percent.

Photo by Flickr user Thomas Hawk

Some Economists Think 2013 Could Bring Much Better Growth

Three reasons: 1.  Energy Expansion 2.  Agriculture Boom 3.  Construction Resumption

Booming Oil Industry Struggling to Fill Job Openings

http://www.npr.org/2012/05/09/152366886/booming-oil-industry-struggles-to-fill-jobs

Farmers Have Been Adding Land

Abby Fentress Swanson/Harvest Public Media

New-Home Sales Create Jobs for Landscapers, Furniture Stores, Etc.

POLL QUESTION #4

On a scale of 1 (Nevada – highest employment) to 5 (North Dakota – lowest employment)… Where would you rank your state’s employment?

Please answer by clicking the radio button on the upcoming screen.

What Does President Obama Want?

•  More Jobs •  Deficit Reduction •  Corporate-Tax Reform •  Immigration Reform •  More Green Energy •  Transportation-Infrastructure Upgrades

http://www.whitehouse.gov/economy

American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009

What Do House Republicans Want?

•  Lower Corporate Taxes •  Cut Federal Spending •  Expand Energy Extraction and Refining •  Reform Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac

http://www.speaker.gov/initiatives

GOP Has Had Few Wins Lately

Win McNamee/Getty Images

What Does Business Want? •  Corporate-Tax Reform •  More Spending for Roads, Bridges, Ports

and Airports •  Immigration Reform •  Better Schools and Universities •  Tort Reform

http://tinyurl.com/b9ka87z

What Does Labor Want?

•  More Spending for Transportation, Schools and Energy Infrastructure

•  Trade-Policy Reforms •  More Federal Aid to State and Local

Governments to Prevent Layoffs •  Wall Street Reforms •  Minimum-Wage Hike

http://www.aflcio.org/Issues

By Tomorrow: Email your favorite local economic stories to Cassandra.Nicholson@businessjournalism.org. We’ll share the links!