Each year at the end of January, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics updates its monthly seasonal factors and revises its nonfarm payroll employment numbers. This year, the revised employment numbers indicate that job growth in the United States may have been stronger than previously estimated. Chart 1 below shows monthly nonfarm employment from January 2010 through December 2012 before and after... Read More

As promised, we will tackle not only research topics in our blog, but also personal finance and economic education topics; because these are additional areas we focus on at the Detroit Branch of the Chicago Fed. This past Friday, I had the pleasure of speaking with high school students from Northwest H.S. in Jackson, MI, and one of the subjects they were interested in learning more about ... Read More

In an earlier blog entitled “What is Canada's Role in the U.S. and Michigan Economies?,” I talked about the link between the economies of the United States and Canada and what role Canada might play in Michigan's economic recovery. These topics were discussed in more detail at the Canada-United States Business Association's (CUSBA) Economic Outlook for 2013. I was fortunate enough to be ... Read More

On Thursday, January 24, 2013, the Detroit Association for Business Economics (DABE) held its annual Bob Fish Memorial Automotive Outlook luncheon. The speakers for this event were Joseph Barker, from the Industry Analysis Group of General Motors (GM), and Mike Jackson, senior manager of North American production forecasting at IHS Automotive. Barker discussed the U.S. automotive sales o... Read More

In the wake of the worst recession the world has seen in many decades, Canada continues to play an important role in the economic recoveries of both the United States and Michigan. Canada has long been one of this country’s biggest trading partners. The chart below shows how U.S. trade with Canada has grown over the years. Although Canada’s total share of U.S. goods trade has fallen sligh... Read More

I would like to open with a short introduction of myself and the newly created Michigan Economy blog. My name is Paul Traub and I am a Business Economist for the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago. In this spot, I will offer some insights into the ongoing performance of Michigan's economy as well as some analysis of important public policy issues, manufacturing, construction, services, employment an... Read More

The Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago hosted its 26th annual Economic Outlook Symposium on Friday, November 30, 2012. The symposium addressed the 2012 performance as well as the 2013 outlook for the U.S and Seventh District economies and their key sectors. William Strauss, Senior Economist and Economic Advisor, reported that real GDP forecasts submitted last year by attendees, economists, ... Read More

Detroit's economic difficulties stem in large part from wholesale relocation of auto manufacturing jobs beginning in the 1970s. The city now has a rapidly declining population, high unemployment, very low property values, high crime rates, and underperforming schools. A variety of organizations interested in the city's economic future believe that entrepreneurship is the way forward, and... Read More

Starting in February 2012, the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago, Detroit Branch, in partnership with the Michigan Council on Economic Education (MCEE) began hosting a series of educational workshops entitled, “Night at the Fed.” The purpose of these workshops is to give economics, history, and social studies teachers, as well as other financial or economic educators, the opportunity to enh... Read More

At the Detroit Association of Business Economists’ (DABE) November 1, 2012, meeting, Charles L. Ballard, professor of economics at Michigan State University, delivered a presentation entitled “Michigan’s Economy on the Eve of the Election.” In his opening remarks, Ballard pointed out how “fundamental structural changes in the U.S. economy have created big problems for the Michigan economy ... Read More