August 2015 Press Release

Tallahassee Economic Index Press Release

The Tallahassee Economic Index (TEI) rose 8.23 points to 63.63 in August, following a .56 point decrease in July and a 5.54 point decrease in June.

Said Brett F. Ewing, Founder of the Tallahassee Economic Index:

“The Index moved up in August as a result of the heaviest weighted component, Initial Claims for Reemployment Assistance, experiencing a large spike downward. It fell 22.5% from July to August, and 32.12% from one year ago. I believe this shows there is strength in our local business community and I think the TEI will reflect this in the coming months.”

“After a really tough stretch for the TEI over the past few months, some of our most leading indicators really showed strong bounce backs this month” said Lance Mitchell, Director of Research at the TEI. “Consumer discretionary spending continues to strengthen as shoes, apparel, furniture and home furnishings all rose nicely on a year over basis. This is a great sign that the consumer is finally ready to spend the benefits of lower energy costs, which earlier in the year they seem to have been saving.”

TEI Mission: To establish an index that tracks and predicts economic growth in the city of Tallahassee. This will be accomplished using data collected from official sources in Leon County.