Defining the Recession

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The New York Times writes there is no official definition of a recession, and no official body to announce when one starts or ends. Still, recessions are often described as two or more quarters of a declining gross domestic product (GDP).

The National Bureau of Economic Research, a private, non-partisan group based in Cambridge, Mass., does not define a recession based on declining GDP.

“Rather, a recession is a significant decline in economic activity spread across the economy, lasting more than a few months, normally visible in real GDP, real income, employment, industrial production, and wholesale-retail sales.” – National Bureau of Economic Research

The NBER says the latest recession began December 1, 2007 and ended in June 2009.

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April 5, 2012

High Gas Prices Affect Station Owners, Too

Idaho is faring somewhat better than many other states in terms of gas prices, as Boise State Public Radio recently reported. According to AAA’s Daily Fuel Gauge Report, a gallon of regular will now run you about $3.78 in Idaho, well below the current national average of $3.94. For Idaho’s gas station owners, that’s cold […]

April 2, 2012

Construction Numbers Complicate Recovery Picture

Total U.S. construction spending fell in February, according to Census Bureau figures released today. The drop was the largest in seven months. The Calculated Risk blog has posted a couple of handy graphs showing construction spending over time and by category. Idaho has seen a substantial decline in construction employment since the start of the […]

March 30, 2012

Understanding The Impact Of Unemployment

Joblessness has long-lasting effects. It’s a troubling fact, and one that has received particular attention in this downturn, during which the average length of unemployment has surpassed all earlier records. Here at StateImpact Idaho, we’ve touched on the effects of unemployment on long-term earnings prospects through our Jobless in Idaho reporting.

March 29, 2012

Boise’s Rebound, By The Numbers

Boise is among the U.S. cities showing the strongest signs of economic recovery, as we reported yesterday. But that assessment comes with a big qualification: in the short-term, the Boise economy looks strong. Its gross metropolitan product — that is, the market value of goods and services produced in the city — grew at a […]

March 28, 2012

Report: Boise’s Recovery Among Strongest In Nation

Boise’s economy got a vote of confidence today, in the form of a report from the Brookings Institution. It puts Boise among the top 20 metro areas in the country, in terms of recession and recovery, considering measures such as job growth and housing market improvement. Brookings researcher Kenan Fikri says growth in the city’s […]

Idaho Posts Above Average Personal Income Growth

Idaho posted above average personal income growth from 2010 to 2011, thanks largely to increases in farm earnings. Other top industries, in terms of earnings growth, included health care and professional services. The construction industry had the most notable earnings losses. Idaho’s personal income grew 5.4 percent from 2010 to 2011. That’s higher than the […]

March 27, 2012

Western Housing Markets Show Signs Of Life

Anyone anxious for a housing market turnaround got a bit of dreary news today, in the form of the most recent Case-Shiller Index report. It found that home values fell 3.8 percent nationally between January 2011 and January of this year, a greater decrease than expected. In the West, though, there has been a trickle […]

March 26, 2012

Scentsy Becomes A Multimillion Dollar Business

Many Idaho companies issued a fair number of pink slips during the recession. But Meridian-based Scentsy didn’t. Instead, the wickless-candle maker grew. It’s ranked among the country’s most promising companies by business magazines like Forbes and Inc.com. In just seven years, Scentsy has become a multimillion dollar enterprise. Selling Scentsy Maggie Clark started selling Scentsy […]

March 22, 2012

Growth Industries Haven’t Heavily Affected Idaho

An Idaho economic consulting and modeling firm’s latest report details the five industries that have grown 40 percent or more since 2007. Economic Modeling Specialists Inc., a Moscow-based firm, says the sector with the greatest rate of growth since 2007 was the cruise ship industry. That growth focused heavily in coastal states, including Washington and […]

Elegy For A Car That Kept Running

Until recently, my car was a 1994 Toyota Camry that my parents purchased second-hand when I was in high school. By the time I was finished with it, its odometer had passed the 260,000 mile mark. It had been broken into in D.C. and held its own on rutted out back roads all over Wyoming. […]