October 2016 Press Release

Tallahassee Index Falls to the Lowest Level of the Year, Airport Sees Most Traffic in Almost a Decade

Slowing Employment Figures, Consumer Spending Weigh on Index

Tallahassee, FL – The Tallahassee Economic Index (TEI), the city’s top economic growth indicator, released numbers ending October 2016 which show slowing employment and lower consumer spending. Meanwhile the Tallahassee International Airport saw the most traffic in more than eight years.

“In the last full month of data before the election results, the TEI fell sharply to the lowest levels of the year, making it negative four out of the last five months,” said TEI Founder Brett F. Ewing. “The index was weighed down by consumer spending categories, including household appliances, shoes stores, home furnishings and apparel sales, which all dropped on a month-to-month and year-over-year basis.”

The index points fell 11.67 points from 55.04 in September to 43.28 in October.

“It was another disappointing month for the TEI with the first year-over-year rise in reemployment assistance claims in more than two years,” said Lance Mitchell, Director of Research at the TEI. “But we did see some pockets of resilience headed up by strong realtor sales and existing family home sales prices, which both saw double digit year-over-year gains. The Tallahassee International Airport also serviced the most passengers in over eight years and easily the most since gaining the international designation.”

• Reemployment Assistance Initial Claims rose 6.16 percent MoM, and 8.06 percent YoY
• Realtor Sales were down 4.55 percent from last month, but they grew by 13.8 percent YoY
• Airport Passengers increased 18.70 percent from September, and 10.22 percent from this time last year
• Single Family Home Median Sales Price continued to climb another 12.97 percent from October 2015
• The Tallahassee International Airport reported traffic of 70,378 in October, That’s 18.70 percent more than last month and 10.22 percent more than October 2015