This content ran in the Washington Business Journal in the June 15, 2018 edition. Between May 2017 and May 2018, the number of existing home sales in the Washington region increased 1.1 percent, marking the second consecutive year-over-year increase. Of the 24 jurisdictions, 13 had gains. Percentage growth was led by Fredericksburg City, VA (+27.6%), Fairfax City,…
In the Washington region overall, both the number of employed and unemployed residents in 2018 have changed at rates that were consistent with their 2016 and 2017 trends. However, the sub-state trends have shifted. Suburban Maryland had more unemployed residents and fewer employed residents compared to April 2017. By contrast, Northern Virginia and the District had fewer unemployed residents and more employed residents compared to last April. Altogether, this suggests that the population and workforce living in Suburban Maryland are responding to different factors than residents in the rest of the region.
After adjusting for regional price levels, the per capita personal income in the Washington region was $56,670 in 2016. Of the 15 largest metros, the Washington region had the fourth highest real PCPI. The region’s real PCPI increased 1.4 percent from 2015 but has increased a total of 2.7 percent since 2008, underperforming all other large metros except Houston.
People in the Washington region are working in increasingly diverse ways, but how do these new ways of working affect regional prosperity? A new report from The Stephen S. Fuller Institute and Business Development Advisors considers proprietors’ income to learn more about the dollar value of work in the Washington region that does not involve wage and salary employment. The report shows that nonfarm proprietors’ income makes a substantial and growing contribution to the regional economy.
The Washington Leading Index increased in February 2018, gaining 2.5 percent from February 2017 and building on January’s increase of 1.8 percent. The Leading Index had been positive in eleven of last year’s twelve months, the only exception being December’s decline that was likely linked to severe weather and the continuing budget impasse that threaten a federal government shutdown. This overall strong performance in 2017 has now continued through the first two months of 2018 and points to the region’s continued economic expansion through at least the third quarter of 2018.
