February 2017 Press Release

Tallahassee Employment Strong, But Consumer Spending Dips In February

Tallahassee, FL – The Tallahassee Economic Index (TEI), the city’s top economic growth indicator, today released numbers ending February 2017 which showed a slight drop after a 12.52 point move in January. Employment maintained its strength, but some consumer spending sectors fell substantially.

“Coming off a multi-month high, the TEI experienced a slight pullback in February,” said TEI Founder Brett F. Ewing. “The underlying data in the individual indicators were relatively benign this month. We saw continued strength in employment data, but there were some pullbacks in the categories that are sensitive to consumer spending. If employment stays strong it is hard to believe those drops will be much more than a blip coming off an unseasonably strong month.”

The Index dipped down 1.21 points (due to rounding), from 61.10 in January to 59.90 in February.

“After such a strong January, it was entirely expected to see a slight cooling in the overall data for February,” said Lance Mitchell, Director of Research at the TEI. “There is nothing in this month’s data that would get us worried about the direction of the economy. The lagging areas of consumer spending should get help from the residential real estate market. Housing, new permits, and lumber all look solid and the sell through of those new homes will increase spending for big ticket items.”

• • Building Permits moved down 37.50 percent in February, but are still 8 percent higher than their 12 month moving average
• • Home Furniture, Furnishings, and Equipment decelerated 37.23 percent from January, however it is still hovering around its 12- month average
• • Realtor Sales grew by 17.07 percent from last month, and by 2.1 percent YoY
• • Realtor Sales dropped 34.92 percent from last month, and by 0.6 percent YoY
• • Household Appliance sales fell 39.67 percent MoM, and 53.77 percent YoY
• • February 2017 Initial Claims for Reemployment Assistance tied the all-time low of 265, from February 2000
• • Airport Passengers hit their third month of greater than 4 percent YoY growth