Reports

Urban Marylanders Are Migrating to More Affordable and Smaller Metro Areas

With its  unemployment rate reaching 1.9 percent in December 2023, Maryland has the tightest labor market in the country, which poses an ongoing hiring challenge for the state’s employers. A key contributor to the tightness is the state’s slow post-pandemic labor force recovery, especially in the state’s inner-ring suburbs of the District of Columbia. While some of the state’s former workers and job seekers have dropped out of the labor force but have remained residents, others have left the state altogether, according to recent statistics that placed Maryland in the top 5 states by net out-migration.

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Parsing the Slow Post-Pandemic Labor Market Recovery of Maryland’s Capital Suburbs

The District of Columbia and its inner ring suburbs — referred to as the Capital Beltway after Interstate 495 — has historically been the core job center for the Washington Metropolitan Area1. In this article, we look at labor market activity within the Capital Beltway over the past three years to assess what might be contributing to the slower growth north of the Potomac River.

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The 2020 Decennial Census: Population Trends in the Washington region

As of April 1, 2020, the Washington region was home to 6,371,325 residents, an increase of 735,093 people and 13.0 percent from April 1, 2010. This was the smallest percent increase since the 1970-1980 period, but changes by geography and race and ethnicity varied.

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Job Change in the Washington Region in 2020 & January 2021

The Washington region lost 197,000 jobs in 2020 and the losses during the pandemic were larger than initially estimated by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. This decline was larger than any on record, with data going back to 1949.

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The Washington Region’s 2020 Recession & Its Near-Term Outlook

The coronavirus pandemic led to a near-shutdown of many industries as the result of changes in consumer demand. The resulting recession in 2020 has been the most severe on record and altered the economy in ways that prior recessions did not.

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The Effects of the Coronavirus Pandemic

The coronavirus pandemic has ended the longest business expansion on record and, unlike prior business cycles, the Washington region’s economy is not disproportionately insulated from its effects and will mirror the trajectory of the U.S. This research is ongoing and materials will be posted on this page.

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The Washington Region: The Transformation of Company Town Economy, 1800-2019

The Washington region’s economy has had three phases: (1) company town, (2) the first transformation and (3) the second transformation. Read Dr. Fuller’s assessment of these phases and their implications for future growth.

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The Economic Impact of the Proposed Long Bridge Expansion

The Long Bridge is a two-track railroad bridge crossing the Potomac River between Arlington County, VA and Washington, D.C. The Bridge is owned and operated by CSX Transportation and is currently also used by Amtrak and Virginia Railway Express. A new two-track rail bridge, a fourth track addition in Alexandria and station improvements to L’Enfant, Crystal City, and Alexandria are being examined (the Long Bridge projects). These improvements would allow an increase of the total number of daily trains crossing the Long Bridge to 192, an increase of 80 trains compared to a no-build scenario. The addition of 80 daily trains crossing the Long Bridge will benefit the national economy and the economies of Virginia, Maryland and the District.

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Amazon’s HQ2: Its Economic, Fiscal and Housing Impacts

Amazon’s second headquarters (HQ2) is expected to bring up to 50,000 jobs and occupy up to 8 million square feet (SF) of office space in Arlington County, VA. The arrival of HQ2 in the Arlington County will have economic, fiscal and housing impacts on the County, the Washington region and the Commonwealth of Virginia. The Stephen S. Fuller Institute has examined the potential effects in a series of reports.

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Updated: Guest Series: The Changing Nature of Work in the Washington Region

This series from The Stephen S. Fuller Institute and Ellen Harpel, President, Business Development Advisors, is considering the implications for the Washington Region of recent national economic research on the future of work and jobs. The second report in the series considers proprietors’ income to learn more about the dollar value of work in the Washington region that does not involve wage and salary employment.

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Demographic Factors Affecting the Upcoming Home Sales Market

The housing market is responsive to both economic and demographic factors. Since the Recession, economic factors have played the largest role in the Washington region. In upcoming years, however, demographic trends will put new pressures on the housing market. This report examines the both the prior economic and demographic trends and how they affected the recent home sales market, as well as the the major demographic trend that may disrupt the housing market: the retirement, downsizing or migration of the Baby Boomers.

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Young Adults in the Washington Region: 2010-2017

This report examines two measures of young adults in the Washington region: the one-year changes in 25-34 year olds between 2010 and 2017, and the five-year change in the oldest members of the Millennial generation, those born between 1983 and 1992, between 2012 and 2017.  The number of 25-34 year olds in the Washington region increased in both 2016 and 2017, reversing the prior trend of declines. However, growth in this age group continues to lag that in the U.S. and the other large metros. The oldest Millennials include people born between 1983 and 1992. This birth cohort was between 20 and 29 years old in 2012 and between 25 and 34 years old in 2017. As this cohort “aged up,” the Washington region had a net gain in the number of these oldest Millennials living in the region.

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Guest Series: The Changing Nature of Work in the Washington Region

This series from The Stephen S. Fuller Institute and Ellen Harpel, President, Business Development Advisors, is considering the implications for the Washington Region of recent national economic research on the future of work and jobs. The second report in the series considers proprietors’ income to learn more about the dollar value of work in the Washington region that does not involve wage and salary employment.

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A Regional Science Center Will Make
Northern Virginia & Loudoun County More Competitive For Economic Growth

A large-scale, interactive Regional Science Center is being proposed and planned by the Children’s Science Center, a local non-profit that currently reaches 70,000 visitors annually at both the Lab, the region’s first hands-on STEM museum facility located in Fairfax County, and through out-reach programs across the region. By providing the region’s children with exposure to the sciences in an informal and self-directed setting at this most critical, formative period in their intellectual development, the Regional Science Center will be a major building block in the educational ecosystem that complements the Loudoun County’s elementary- and secondary-level STEM-education programs.

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What Does a Shutdown Mean for the Washington Region’s Economy

During a shutdown, the federal government stops contributing to key components of the Washington region’s economy, including civilian and military wages and salaries, procurement and grants. Altogether, the federal government accounts for 29.9 percent of the regional economy and pays $2.5 billion each week for work being performed in the region. During the shutdown, a significant portion of this activity will stop. The key question, however, is how much of that lost spending and economic activity will be made up later and how much will be forgone entirely. Even if the majority of the spending is made up post-shutdown, losses in efficiency, distributional impacts, and increased uncertainty will have a modest economic costs, which will increase as the shutdown continues. Without back pay, the economic impact is projected to be significant and a three-week shutdown could cost the region upwards of 0.26 percent of its gross regional product.

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The Washington Region’s Economy in 2017 & Outlook for 2018 & Beyond

The Washington region’s economy outperformed its beginning-of-the-year forecast in 2017 growing at an estimated 2.1 percent and improving significantly on its 1.1 percent gain in 2016. While still not outperforming the national economy (GDP), the region’s economy has recovered sufficiently to closely mirror the current and projected near-term performance of the U.S. economy.

The outlook for the Washington region’s economy in 2018 is for accelerating economic growth (2.3%). The burden that the Washington region’s economy is carrying in 2018 and beyond is the likelihood of flat or declining federal spending. If this proves to be the case, then the region’s economic growth will fully depend on the growth of its non-federally dependent export-based sectors and local-serving sectors that also serve non-local markets.

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Guest Series: The Changing Nature of Work in the Washington Region

This series from The Stephen S. Fuller Institute and Ellen Harpel, President, Business Development Advisors, is considering the implications for the Washington Region of recent national economic research on the future of work and jobs. Specifically the series will examine how the gig and sharing economy, other contingent and independent work arrangements, and technology trends may affect employment and competitiveness in our region.

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Guest Series: The Impact of Changing Federal Procurement Outlays on Selected Sub-Sectors in the Washington Region’s Economy

Historically, the economic performance in the Washington region has been shaped by federal spending, including payroll outlays for the federal workforce and procurement outlays for the purchase of goods and services from the private sector. This series will examine the nature of federal dependence across several sectors of the Washington region’s economy.

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What Are the Economic Consequences of a Reduction in Federal Spending?

With Congress debating the FY 2018 Budget and a tax reduction plan moving through Congress as well, there is an increasing likelihood that federal spending patterns in the Washington region will change in either magnitude (value) or distribution among agencies and programs or both in the coming year and beyond.  By examining the economic impacts of reductions in federal spending precipitated by the Budget Control Act of 2011, the impacts of these spending reductions on the region’s economy and its job holders and their incomes can be measured.

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Migration in the Washington Region

Between 2000 and 2016, the population in the Washington region increased from 4.86 million people to 6.13 million people. This change was the result of three factors: the natural increase (births minus deaths), net domestic migration, and net foreign migration. During this period, population gains occurred from the natural increase and net foreign migration while the region lost population from net domestic migration.

The natural increase is relatively predictable and primarily based on an individual’s life cycle. As such, the patterns over time and the characteristics of new residents (babies) are stable and depend upon the characteristics of current residents. By contrast, migration is more dependent upon external factors, like economic opportunity, cost of living, and quality of life. These factors change, both in the Washington region and elsewhere, resulting in differing patterns over time. This report examines these trends.

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The Washington Region’s Declining Economic Brand

This region’s slow economic growth since 2010, it ranks 15th out of the largest 15 metros, has been compounded by a weak mix of new jobs favoring lower-value added occupations. This, in turn, has resulted in the Washington region having the slowest personal income growth of any of the top 15 metropolitan areas, and still the region ranks third for its high cost of living and second for its high rental costs; these are 69% above the U.S. average.  No wonder that population growth has slowed and the region has experienced net domestic outmigration for three consecutive years.  On top of this, the region continues to rank at the top or near the top for traffic congestion and time spent commuting. The Region’s brand has been tarnished by its decline in its rankings as compared to its peers.  The evidence is growing that the time is now to start re-branding the region based on its ample assets.

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Federal Procurement Spending in the Washington Region: 2008 – 2016

Federal procurement spending in the Washington region from 2008 to 2016 was marked by three major trends. The first major trend was the decline in federal procurement spending following its peak in 2010 after thirty years of growth. The second trend was a decrease in the concentration of federal procurement dollars by agency and sub-state portion of the Washington region that was primarily the result of large spending decline by DoD. The third trend was the homogenization of purchases by the federal government with fewer categories of products and services accounting for a greater percentage of annual procurement spending. Overall, these trends point to the region’s economy being less dependent on which agency is doing the procurement and more dependent on what products and services are being purchased. Still, the key variable remains the total value of federal procurement contracting as this is a critical determinant of the Washington region’s future economic vitality.

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Roadmap Update: Comparative Performance of Regional and National Clusters: March 2014 – March 2016

How have the region’s advanced industrial clusters performed since The Sequester? Has the performance of the region’s seven non-federally dependent clusters resulted in reducing the region’s economic dependence on the federal government thereby reducing its vulnerability to possible future reductions in federal spending? In the two years since The Sequester (March 2014-March 2016), jobs in these clusters grew by 1.9 percent substantially lagging the growth of non-cluster jobs in the region and the performance of their respective clusters nationally.

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Demographic Change in the Washington Region: 1990-2015

The Washington region gained residents faster than the nation and all but five of the 15 largest employment metros between 1990 and 2015. The age distribution of residents in the region shifted over this period and the region had a higher proportion of older residents in 2015 compared to 1990. The region became majority-minority in 2008 and continued to diversify in the next seven years. This report details the changing composition of the Washington Region and how it compares to both the nation and the 15 largest employment metros.

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The Impact of the Torpedo Factory Art Center on the Economy of the City of Alexandria

The research presented in this report confirms the findings of other research on the economic impacts of the Torpedo Factory Art Center; that is, the Torpedo Factory is the most cited major attraction of visitors to Old Town, 83% of its visitors are nonresidents of Alexandria, its visitors combine their trip to the Torpedo Factory with multiple visits to other Old Town attractions, and visitors attracted to Old Town by the Torpedo Factory spend on average $92.88 during their visit including purchases at the Art Center.

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Assessing the Roadmap and the Region’s Economic Pivot

The Washington region has long depended on increased spending by the Federal Government for its economic growth. This report summarizes this history and provides an update on the region’s growth in 2014 through 2016.

The Roadmap for the Washington Region’s Future Economy, released in January 2016, identified seven advanced industrial clusters for which the region possessed a competitive advantage that were not federally dependent. Over the 2014 to 2016 period, job growth was strong. While the gains were not driven by increases in the Federal Government, they were also not driven by these advanced industries. Rather, the growth occurred in non-cluster based jobs, the majority of which are local serving. Overall, there is little evidence that the Washington economy has pivoted away from its historic dependence on federal spending to grow in the long run.

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The Roadmap

At the start of 2015, Dr. Fuller warned regional leaders that Greater Washington was at risk of falling behind other major metropolitan regional economies if there was not an increase in regional cooperation and a decrease in the region’s reliance on federal funding. Heeding his call for action, the 2030 Group and a strong cross-sector coalition of regional leaders came together to support The Roadmap for the Washington Region’s Future Economy.

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Improving the Washington Region’s Global Competitiveness

The Washington metro area faces a new imperative: it must activate the private side of its economy. Doing so will likely mean increasing the region’s competitiveness in the global economy, as the domestic economy is simply not expected to grow at a very strong rate in the near future.

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