Leading Indicators

Since 2019 the Economy League has produced a regular data brief designed to deepen understanding of key regional trends.  LI provides  digestible, accessible analysis of data on timely topics such as regional economic trends, local labor and housing markets, and the business ecosystem.  

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The Latest Leading Indicators

Leading Indicators
Philadelphia's Construction Restart During the Pandemic
Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, the City of Philadelphia was in the midst of a construction boom. However, with Governor Wolf’s March 20 order to shut...
Leading Indicators
The Impact of COVID-19 on Philly’s Latinx/Hispanic Community
The Impact of COVID-19 on Philly’s Latinx Community In a previous Leading Indicator, we examined the social determinants of health that have...
Leading Indicators
COVID-19 and Greater Philadelphia's Tech Workforce
Across the U.S, the COVID-19 pandemic has to date wiped out roughly the same number of jobs that were created since the Great Recession. In previous...
Leading Indicators
The Impact of COVID-19 on Philly’s African American Community
A recent report from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has shown that the COVID-19 virus is affecting Black Americans more...
Leading Indicators
COVID-19 and Greater Philadelphia’s Small Businesses
The mandated social distancing and closure of non-essential businesses in response to the COVID-19 pandemic have disproportionately affected the...
Leading Indicators
COVID-19 and Philadelphia’s Food Economy
With statewide closures of non-essential businesses and mandated social distancing resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic, many of the region’s food...
Leading Indicators
The Economic Impact of COVID-19: Philadelphia’s Working Poor and ‘On-The-Edge’ Populations
EDITOR’S NOTE: During this unprecedented time of disruption and uncertainty, the Economy League’s Leading Indicators newsletter will provide a series...
Leading Indicators
Greater Philadelphia's Declining Transit Ridership
In January, CityLab detailed declines in quarterly transit ridership from 2018 to 2019 in several major U.S. metropolitan areas. Apart from Washington...
Leading Indicators
A Snapshot of Philadelphia’s Part-Time Workforce
For this Leading Indicator, we continue our focus on Philadelphia’s workforce – in particular, we look at Philadelphia’s part-time employment...
Leading Indicators
Why Haven't Philly Wages Increased with Employment Levels (Part 2)
In the last issue of Leading Indicators, we showed that Philadelphia’s wage growth has lagged employment levels in recent years. We hypothesized as to...
Leading Indicators
Why Haven’t Philly Wages Increased with Employment Levels? (Part 1)
There’s been an ongoing national discussion of the seeming paradox of concurrent wage stagnation and rising employment levels in the past decade since...
Leading Indicators
Is Philadelphia Heading for a Recession? What Do the Data Say?
In the past few months, talk of an economic downturn or recession in the coming 18-24 months has become commonplace in both the media and government...
Leading Indicators
Homeownership Among Philadelphia's Millennial Generation
With City Council’s recent expansion of the Philly First Home program, homeownership may become more affordable for many first-time buyers in the city...
Leading Indicators
Income Inequality Among Philadelphia's Workforce
During recent budget hearings in Philadelphia City Council we learned of the efforts municipal departments are making to include underrepresented...
Leading Indicators
Unpacking Philadelphia's Workforce Composition
At last week's budget hearings, the Commerce Department – home to the Office of Workforce Development – fielded several questions by City Council...
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