July 2017 Press Release

Tallahassee’s Economy Slows in July, Shows Glimpse of Hope for Future Growth

Tallahassee, FL – The Tallahassee Economic Index (TEI), the city’s top economic growth indicator, today released numbers ending July 2017. After a 6.25 point rebound in June, July gave back 10.06 points.

“The July 2017 TEI numbers showed the economy slowing. This was the fourth largest drop we have seen in the past 24 months.” said TEI Founder Brett F. Ewing. “The numbers weren’t all bleak; the employment situation continues to improve and real estate remains stable. We are interested to see how the hurricane and football season impact the economy in the coming months.

The Index moved lower 10.06 points, from 57.29 in June to 47.23 in July.

“We weren’t able to build on what was a strong June as July TEI numbers came in very weak,” said Lance Mitchell, Director of Research at the TEI. “Business spending categories led the way down and real estate numbers which had been holding the index up showed no real growth on a monthly or yearly basis. One bright spot that continues to show promise is leading building indicators. New construction permits have been extremely strong for the past three months including a 100 percent rise over last July and lumber sales have risen for six straight months on a year-over-year basis.”

• New Construction Permits jumped 100 percent from last July, from 22 to 44
• Median Home Sales Prices dropped by 12.07 percent MoM, and are unchanged from July of 2016
• Realtor Sales fell 12.36 percent from last month and advanced 2.2 percent from last July
• Drinking Places saw sales finally grow 10.03 percent from June, But continued to see YoY declines, this time it was a decline of 10.80 percent YoY
• Initial Claims for Reemployment Assistance decreased 2.74 percent from June and 7.35 percent from last July
• Lumber and Other Building Materials continue to move higher. This category has grown 10 out of the last 12 months YoY. Seeing an average YoY growth rate of 6.88 percent.