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U.S. Metro Economies: Outlook – Gross Metropolitan Product, and Critical Role of Transportation Infrastructure

July 23, 2012 Comments off

U.S. Metro Economies: Outlook – Gross Metropolitan Product, and Critical Role of Transportation Infrastructure
Source: U.S. Conference of Mayors
From press release (PDF):

A new report released today by The U.S. Conference of Mayors (USCM) shows that the nation’s cities and their metro areas continue to make steady progress toward economic recovery, while sounding a warning alarm that failure to dramatically increase investment in transportation infrastructure could cause skyrocketing costs to families, commuters and businesses, potentially doubling over the next decade.

The report examines the impact that population increases, employment growth, export expansion and economic output will have on metropolitan areas.

The report forecasts that by the end of 2012, 300 of the nation’s 363 metro areas will experience real economic growth (gross metro product), and predicts that over the remainder of the year the nation’s economy will see 1.4 percent increase in employment and a real GDP growth of 2.0 percent. Prepared by IHS Global Insight, the report also projects that household budgets will receive a boost from falling gas prices that are expected to decline to $3.11/gallon by the fall.

New Economic Report by U.S. Conference of Mayors Shows Anemic Growth in Nation’s Metro Economies

January 19, 2012 Comments off

New Economic Report by U.S. Conference of Mayors Shows Anemic Growth in Nation’s Metro Economies (PDF)
Source: U.S. Conference of Mayors

Job growth for nearly all of the nation’s metro areas will increase this year but not fast enough to force the unemployment rate below 8 percent, according to a report produced by IHS Global Insight as part of the US Conference of Mayors’ US Metro Economy series.

The Report released today, forecasts job growth for all metro areas but mild to weak for many, and predicts that 22% of metro areas hardest hit by housing crisis will take five years to recover.

At the close of 2011, 125 cities and their metro areas had not seen any net job growth. By the end of last year, the economy as a whole had regained only 30 percent of jobs lost from the Great Recession.

The outlook for 2012 is better. By the end of this year, the report forecasts that almost every one of our 363 metro economies will see job gains and the nation will have gained back 48 percent of its lost jobs. But despite this progress, the recovery remains slow and uneven. For almost 80 of the nation’s metro areas, it will take more than five years to get back to pre-recession levels of employment.

The report offers a glimpse into what middle-class families are going through in this economy: median real income for US households in 2010 was $49,455 – 7.1% lower than in 1999, when it was $53,252.

+ Key Findings (PDF)
+ Full Report (PDF)

Joblessness Leads to More Hungry & Homeless Families in U.S. Cities

January 4, 2012 Comments off
Source:  U.S. Conference of Mayors

In the midst of a struggling economy and continuing high levels of unemployment, U.S. cities are feeling the pressure from increased numbers of hungry and homeless families according to a U.S. Conference of Mayors (USCM) report on the status of Hunger and Homelessness in 29 cities in America…
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According to report findings, all but four of the survey cities noted that requests for emergency food assistance increased over the past year by an average of 15 percent. And among those requesting food assistance, cities noted that even those with jobs are going hungry — 51 percent of those requesting assistance were families, 26 percent were employed, 19 percent were elderly and 11 percent were homeless. With joblessness in many cities reaching double-digits, unemployment was cited by the survey cities as the main cause of hunger, followed by poverty, low wages and high housing costs.

Increasing demand and decreasing resources were most frequently found as the biggest challenge to addressing hunger. In an attempt to meet the need, emergency kitchens had to reduce the quantity of food people could receive or the amount of food offered per meal in 86 percent of the survey cities; and food pantries had to limit the number of times people could visit each month in 68 percent of the survey cities. Even with such efforts, 82 percent of the cities reported having to turn people away because of lack of resources.

Full Report (PDF)
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