Blog - RegionTrack

Pic-of-the-Week: County Jobless Rates Show Strengthening Oklahoma Economy (09/01/2014)

NEARLY ALL OKLAHOMA COUNTIES HAVE DECLINING UNEMPLOYMENT RATES THE PAST YEAR. Â There are a number of ways to gauge the underlying strength of a state economy. Â One useful way is to measure the cumulative health of theÂ individual counties. We often do this usingÂ a simple form of diffusion index which isÂ simply the sum of counties with a declining unemployment rate the past 12 months.Â For Oklahoma the indicator has returned to very positive territory. After sluggishness in the state economy in 2013,Â the state has bounced back in 2014 with the jobless rate in a distinct downtrendÂ in nearlyÂ every county.

Pic-of-the-Week: One Bright Spot for Self-Employment (08/18/2014)

SELF-EMPLOYMENT REMAINS WEAK – EXCEPT FOR THOSE INCORPORATED. Â A common refrain in this recovery isÂ that self-employment is lagging badly. Â That is generally true if you look at the traditional measure of self-employment which covers unincorporated businesses (primarilyÂ sole proprietors) only. The top graph shows that the level of traditional unincorporated self-employment has beenÂ locked in a downtrend duringÂ muchÂ of the period since 2007.Â Currently about 9 million persons are self-employed in unincorporated businesses.Â

Pic-of-the-Week: Farm Boom Rolls On (07/28/2014)

STRENGTH IN THE FARM SECTOR REACHES NEW HEIGHTS.Â Â A boom in agriculture has been underway in the U.S. since 2009. The breadth and strength ofÂ the ongoing expansionÂ in the farm sector isn’t widely recognized outside the Plains states. Crop prices have reached remarkable levels relative to prices from only a decade ago. And it is not just the price forÂ ethanol-driven corn.Â

Measures of U.S. Labor Force Utilization

Pic-of-the-Week: Watch the Employment-Population Ratio, Not the Labor Force Participation Rate (07/28/2014)

BOTTOM IN THE EMPLOYMENT-POPULATION RATIO IS ENCOURAGING.Â Â Way too much attention is paid to the labor force participation rate. Â It is the most commonly used measure of the level of involvement of the population in the labor force, but it is not the measure that contains the most information. Â That honor belongs to the employment-population ratio.Â

Pic-of-the-Week: U.S. Job Growth Remarkably Strong & Consistent (07/14/2014)

U.S. Job Growth Remains Both Strong and Consistent.Â Â It has become fashionable to describe U.S. job growth as sub-par or below expectations. But aÂ Â deeper look at the data reveals something entirely different – remarkably strong and steady job growth. The U.S. labor market has improved consistently since early 2010 and is now adding jobsÂ at a nearly 2% annual pace. In fact, job growth has now remained above 1.5% at an annual rate for more than 2 years.