January 2017 Press Release

Tallahassee Index Jumps with Advertising and New Construction on the Rise

Tallahassee, FL – The Tallahassee Economic Index (TEI), the city’s top economic growth indicator, today released numbers ending January 2017 which showed a significant move up from the previous month. The Index was led by a jump in advertising, continued expansion in new construction permits and six months of continued, year-over-year, growth in airport traffic.

“This month we saw the Index make a solid upward move,” said TEI Founder Brett F. Ewing. “Many indicators saw strong year-over-year change, especially new construction permits that grew by 52.38 percent. Business confidence is on the rise in the capital city with advertising and office equipment sales showing solid growth in January.”

The Index climbed up 12.52 points, from 48.58 in December to 61.1 in January.

“January saw the biggest jump in nearly a year,” said Lance Mitchell, Director of Research at the TEI. “Household appliances, home furnishings and apparel all beat their prior month numbers, indicating a more assertive consumer. We have consistently seen traffic at Tallahassee International Airport grow, with January being the sixth consecutive month of year-over-year gains.”

• Advertising jumped considerably, up 336.78 percent MoM and 168.06 percent YoY
• Building Permits moved up 100 percent since December and 52.38 percent YoY
• Airport Passengers dropped 10.01 percent from December, but advanced 11.58 percent from this time last year
• Realtor Sales dropped 34.92 percent from last month, and by 0.6 percent YoY
• Median Sales Price fell 5.91 percent MoM, but ticked up 3.07 percent YoY