Trendsights Newsletter
| MERIC's Thanksgiving Holiday Fun Facts The Plymouth settlers first celebrated Thanksgiving in 1621 making it a time for gathering with friends and family, giving thanks, and of course – eating! Did you know that Missouri ranks fourth in turkey production in the United States with an estimated 640 thousand pounds of turkey? This is just one of the facts MERIC has put together for you to gobble up to commemorate this holiday. |
|
| Business Index Rises Missouri’s Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) for October was 53.6, an increase of 4.4 points, and in expansion territory, according to the monthly Mid-America Business Conditions Survey, conducted by Creighton University, Omaha, NE. Economists consider the index, which measures such factors as new orders, production, supplier delivery times, backlogs, inventories, prices, employment, import orders and exports, a key economic indicator. Typically, a score greater than 50 indicates an expansionary economy while a score below 50 forecasts a sluggish economy. |
|
| Cost of Living for Third Quarter 2019 Missouri had the 8th lowest cost of living in the United States for the third quarter of 2019. In general, the most expensive areas to live were Hawaii, Alaska, the Northeast, and the West Coast. The least expensive areas were the Midwest and Southern states. For the past eleven quarters, Missouri has been in the top ten for lowest cost of living in the nation. |
|
| Labor Market Information Applied Analyst Training The Council for Community and Economic Research is dedicated to improving the skills of community and economic development research professionals. In cooperation with the LMI Institute, C2ER offers a comprehensive training program in economic development and workforce analysis. |
|
| Missouri Employer Survey Results Over 1,600 Missouri companies, with five employees or more, were surveyed in 2019 to gauge the state of the workforce from the employers’ point of view. This 2019 survey looked at both metro and non-metro employers to understand key similarities or differences that may help inform workforce or economic development decisions. |
|
| 2018 Manufacturing Brief Manufacturing is a major component of Missouri’s $317.7 billion economy. It represents 12.8 percent ($40.7 billion) of the 2018 Gross State Product (GSP). Change over the past five years in Missouri’s Manufacturing GSP averaged 2.8 percent annual growth. Manufacturing accounts for 11.5 percent of the state’s private sector employment with 273,163 jobs across 6,476 establishments. |
|
| MERIC's Halloween Fun Facts According to the National Retail Federation, consumer confidence is high as a result of the strong national economy. Estimates indicate that families are planning to celebrate Halloween this year by spending an average of $86.27, down slightly from last year’s all‐time high of $86.79. Approximately 172 million Americans will participate in Halloween festivities, with projected spending at $8.8 billion. |
|
| 2018 New Business Formations New businesses bring industry diversity and job growth to a state and serve as major engines for economic growth. Research has shown a positive relationship between levels of entrepreneurial activity and economic growth. In 2018, there were 19,731 new business formations in Missouri. |
|
| Metropolitan Exports Did you know the Springfield metropolitan area has exported $5.4 billion in goods since 2005? Click on the above link to see metro export information for the nation and detailed Missouri metro data including trade partners and export totals. |
|
| 2018 Missouri County Population St. Louis County continues to have the largest Missouri population with 996,945. St. Charles County added the largest number of new residents from 2017 to 2018 (3,937). Click or hover on the county you are interested in on the interactive dashboard and the population figures will be displayed. Data and images may be extracted with the download button at the bottom right of the Tableau Chart. |
|
| MERIC Launches NEW Website The Missouri Economic Research and Information Center (MERIC) has launched a new website. Click on the above link to view the new website, which includes easier access to downloadable data. Go to the About Us page to find your regional contact. |
|
| Industry Concentration in Missouri Industry concentration analysis can help identify which industries are more export-oriented or specialized in an area than other industries. Businesses that are export-oriented, like manufacturing, agriculture, and some services, are important sources of new income to the state. Did you know that Animal Food Manufacturing has the highest industry concentration in Missouri? Click on the above link to see what other industries have high concentrations in Missouri. |
|
| US and State Population Rise The U.S. Census Bureau estimates that the nation’s population increased from 325.1 million (July 2017) to 327.1 million (July 2018) — adding 2.0 million new residents. Missouri ranked 18th by population size with 6,126,452 residents. The state gained 17,840 new residents between July 2017 and July 2018. |
|
| Maps Reveal Where the Creative Class Is Growing The creative class is comprised of knowledge workers in education, healthcare, law, arts, tech, science, and business. Did you know that the growth of the creative class in St. Louis, Mo has increased 16.5% from 2005 to 2017? Click on the above link to read more about which metros hold concentrations of creative class occupations. |
|
| Missouri Business by Size Missouri had 186,933 private sector employers in the 1st quarter of 2018. Firms employing 1 to 49 workers made up 95.7 percent of all businesses in Missouri. Headquarter and manufacturing firms had the highest average employment size when compared to other industries. |
|
| Professional Certifications and Occupational Licenses In 2018, 43.7 million people in the United States held an active certification or license, totaling 24.1 percent of those employed. Health Care, Legal and Education have over 50% of those employed holding a license or certification. Read more about certifications and licenses by clicking on the link above. |
|
| Career Outlook: Earning Green by Working Green What’s good for the earth may be good for your earnings. Wages in many occupations related to environmental protection were well above the $38,640 national median annual wage for all occupations in 2018, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). |
|
| Census Business Builder Application Tools Are you looking for data to help you start or grow a business or understand the business landscape for a region? The Census Business Builder (CBB) is a suite of services that provide selected demographic and economic data from the Census Bureau tailored to specific types of users in a simple to access and use format. Two versions are available – the Small Business Edition for small business owners and the Regional Analyst Edition for chambers of commerce and regional planners. Click on the above link to access both versions. |
|
| Missouri Career Grades - Statewide Did you know that Missouri is projected to have over 362,000 annual job openings through 2026 and that a majority of those openings (94%) earned a Career Grade of A, B, and C? Career Grades are a tool to help gauge the outlook of each of the 800+ occupations based on a combination of total job openings, projected percentage of growth, and average wages. Each occupation is assigned a letter grade from A+ to F based on an objective calculation. Click the link above to explore the state’s top grade occupations. |
|
| 2018 Missouri Occupation Highlights The Occupational Employment Statistics program estimates employment and wages for hundreds of Missouri jobs. Office and Administrative Support jobs had the highest employment, accounting for 16% of all occupations in Missouri. Management and Computer and Mathematical occupations had the highest wages. |
|
| Anne Casey Foundation’s 2019 KIDS COUNT Data Book The 30th edition of the Data Book examines how America’s child population has changed, demographically and geographically. Did you know that Missouri’s number of children has grown by 5% from 1990 to 2017? Read more about the well-being of the nation’s families and children, including Missouri’s, by clicking on the above link. |
|
| We Create – Kansas City Capital Dashboard KCSourceLink tracks the flow of equity capital and grants into Kansas City companies for startup and early-stage companies needing capital to fuel growth. Their interactive dashboard shows investment by location, industry and size of investment. Click on the above link to view the dashboard and view how Kansas City is helping entrepreneurs excel. |
|
| High-Quality Jobs for Young Adults Helping young people prepare to engage in work and life as productive adults is a central challenge for any society. Job quality among those from disadvantaged backgrounds varies by race and ethnicity. The gap in job quality scores between blacks and whites disappears after factoring in education, further emphasizing the value of equipping all young people for success in the labor market. |
|
| Kansas City Honored in Data Usage Bloomberg honored seven cities, including Kansas City, Mo with What Works Cities, recognizing top cities for use of data in their decision-making. Kansas City achieved certification at Gold level up from Silver last year. |