RERI News

Industry Diversification Project: First Quarter 2023 Report

March 22, 2023 / RERI Research Team / Tag: Industry Diversification Project

The RERI has published the Industry Diversification Report for the first quarter of 2023. The goal of the IDI is to measure industry diversification and, by extension, that of the workforce, in each of Florida’s 24 workforce regions, the state of Florida, and the remaining 49 states. The index measure is computed quarterly, soon after the release of workforce data from the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity’s Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages. It spans from 0 to 10, with 0 signifying no diversification (or an economy characterized by a single industry), and 10 signifying perfect diversification (no concentration).

Regional Economic Indicators: March 2023 Report

March 01, 2023 / RERI Research Team

The RERI has published Regional Economic Indicators for March 2023. The monthly publication represents a collection and analysis of economic indicators including airport passenger activity, taxable sales, tourist tax revenues, labor force, employment, real estate, and consumer sentiment for the Southwest Florida workforce region.

Regional Economic Indicators: February 2023 Report

February 01, 2023 / RERI Research Team

The RERI has published Regional Economic Indicators for February 2023. The monthly publication represents a collection and analysis of economic indicators including airport passenger activity, taxable sales, tourist tax revenues, labor force, employment, real estate, and consumer sentiment for the Southwest Florida workforce region.

Lee EBCS: First Quarter 2023 Report

January 31, 2023 / RERI Research Team

The Lee County economy showed signs of improvement for the first quarter of the new year, as the Executive Business Climate Index (EBCI) increased 3.1 points from the previous quarter to 53.0. While this is welcome news for a county that experienced a catastrophic category 4 hurricane just four months ago, a deeper dive into the results suggests that the county still has a way to go to fully recover from Ian. The current economic conditions index, based on a question asking respondents to compare the Lee County economy to 12 months ago, had an index of 42.2 for the first quarter of 2023, up 3.8 points from the previous quarter but still 8.7 points below the third quarter of 2022 (the last data point before Hurricane Ian). Similar conclusions could be drawn from the current industry conditions and current hiring trends indices, which both saw improvements from the last quarter but remained below pre-Ian levels.

Collier EBCS: First Quarter 2023 Report

January 31, 2023 / RERI Research Team

The Collier County economy continued to decline to begin the new year, according to the latest results from the Collier County Executive Business Climate Survey. The Collier County Executive Business Climate Index (EBCI) slipped in the first quarter of 2023, falling 1.3 points from the previous quarter to 51.7. The decline in the EBCI was largely due to perception of economic conditions, as both the Current Economic Conditions and Future Economic Conditions components dipped 1.8 points over the same period. Future Industry Conditions, a measure of expectations for the respondent’s industry over the next year, slipped 0.5 points.

Issue Brief: Hurricane Ian Impact on Taxable Sales

January 31, 2023 / RERI Research Team / Tags: Issue Brief, Reports

The January 2023 edition of Regional Economic Indicators reported that seasonally-adjusted taxable sales for the Southwest Florida workforce region (comprising Charlotte, Collier, Glades, Hendry and Lee counties) increased 16 percent in October 2022 compared to October 2021. October 2022 information was of interest because it represents the first full month of data after Hurricane Ian made landfall in late September 2022. Because of the increase, a natural question arises – which types of businesses saw increased economic activity after Hurricane Ian and which saw sharp declines? In this issue brief, we take a deeper dive into how Hurricane Ian impacted taxable sales and which types of businesses contributed to this increase. The taxable sales data used in this issue brief is provided by the Florida Department of Revenue and offers a breakdown of taxable sales by the type of business (labeled as “kind codes”). For this study, two adjustments were made to the taxable sales data:

Regional Economic Indicators: January 2023 Report

January 03, 2023 / RERI Research Team / Tags: Regional Economic Indicators, Reports

The RERI has published Regional Economic Indicators for January 2023. The monthly publication represents a collection and analysis of economic indicators including airport passenger activity, taxable sales, tourist tax revenues, labor force, employment, real estate, and consumer sentiment for the Southwest Florida workforce region.

Industry Diversification Project: Fourth Quarter 2022 Report

December 22, 2022 / RERI Research Team / Tag: Industry Diversification Project

The RERI has published the Industry Diversification Report for the fourth quarter of 2022. The goal of the IDI is to measure industry diversification and, by extension, that of the workforce, in each of Florida’s 24 workforce regions, the state of Florida, and the remaining 49 states. The index measure is computed quarterly, soon after the release of workforce data from the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity’s Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages. It spans from 0 to 10, with 0 signifying no diversification (or an economy characterized by a single industry), and 10 signifying perfect diversification (no concentration).