May 2014 Press Release

Tallahassee Economic Index Press Release

The Tallahassee Economic Index (TEI) rose 1.67 points to 48.67 in May, following a 11.48 point decrease in April and a 11.71 point increase in March.

Says Brett F. Ewing, Founder of the Tallahassee Economic Index:

“Even though the rebound in the overall Index was more muted than we would have liked, the indicator we use the most, Initial Claims for Reemployment Assistance, experienced a large spike downwards as less people got laid off from work on a monthly and year over year basis. The continued move down in that data point would create the stabilization we are looking for in the local economy.”

 “After a long stretch of sub-par housing numbers we finally had a decent month as realtor sales and average home sales prices rose nicely and looks to be headed towards a normalization of slower, but steady growth.” says Lance Mitchell, Director of Research at the TEI. “The one area of housing that continues to worry is lumber as we are seeing a slump in prices nationally and a slowdown in demand locally. These issues could be a negative indicator for new construction, and definitely something to keep an eye on in upcoming reports.”

TEI Mission: To establish an index that tracks and predicts economic growth in the city of Tallahassee. This will be accomplished using data collected from official sources in Leon County.