30 Things Economic Developers Need to Know This Week

The stories Dane Carlson thinks you need to see. May 29, 2025 edition.

Welcome to this week's issue of What Economic Developers Need to Know This Week, where we explore the evolving dynamics of our economy.

This week we have 30 tools, stories, graphics, charts and videos that I think you'll find informative, useful, inspiring, and perhaps even humorous. Some are economic development related directly, and some only indirectly. 🤔

If you're wondering what to do with the info in this newsletter, send something to your board members. It will make you look good!

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1) Economic Development and Developers in the News # 197 - Econ dev news from 89 economic development executives and organizations in 25 states.

2) Transforming Second-Tier Markets into Economic Powerhouses with Barry Broome - How to Turn Your Underdog City into a Clean Tech Champion

3) 31 New Econ Dev Jobs This Week - In 19 states, from $31 - $200,000.

4) 36 Things Economic Developers Need to Know This Week - The stories Dane thinks you need to see. May 22, 2025 edition.

5) Economic Development and Developers in the News # 196 - Econ dev news from 74 economic development executives and organizations in 32 states.

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6) I can't tell you the number of chamber and econ dev leaders that have boasted to me about their new workforce development centers. I always tell them that their next investment in workforce needs to be a daycare. Look at these daycare costs by state:

7) Tim Carty: Why human touch still wins (and other thoughts from SelectUSA)

8) From Andrew Ratchford of Site Selection Group: How 'Made in USA', the Buy American Act, and the Build America, Buy America Act shape industrial site selection.

9) First sale rule: Businesses are finding a workaround for tariffs — and it's entirely legal.

10) They tore down a highway and made it a river (and traffic got better):

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11) Tariffs in American history: (TL;DR Tariffs in U.S. history started as a main way to raise money and protect new industries, later caused major conflicts between regions, hurt global trade during the Great Depression, and have now become an important part of how the U.S. deals with other countries.)

12) From Jim Gibson: Is Government Intervention Good for Economic Growth? It Depends.

13) April home sales dropped to the slowest pace for that month since 2009:

14) While inventories continue to rise:

15) New home sales, on the other hand, climbed above last year's levels:

16) Inventories are easing:

17) The median size of new homes has steadily declined since peaking around 2016, reflecting a shift toward more entry-level construction:

/Users/dane/Documents/20 Econ Dev Show/Assorted/Median-size-of-a-new-home-2025-05-28-20-06-08.png

18) However, affordability remains elusive as land, labor, and material costs continue to rise limiting price relief:

19) Despite the May 12 US-China tariff pause, container ship departures from China to the US have continued to decline, suggesting weak demand or uncertainty around future trade policy:

20) Global annual power capacity additions by source since 2000:

21) Share of population and GDP by region in 2025:

22) Global share of manufacturing value, by country:

23) US consumer confidence rebounded this month, boosted by trade optimism:

24) Inflation expectations are easing:

25) Job market sentiment remains weak, according to the labor differential:

26) The Dallas Fed's regional manufacturing index rebounded this month:

27) US house prices declined in March for the first time in 26 months:

28) Increase in undergraduate education costs vs. CPI since 1992:

29) Commercial or residential density: which is most important? A city is first and foremost about economic activities, not houses. And so, the density of economic activities is crucial, perhaps even more crucial to walkable, transit-friendly urbanism than dense residential areas. Building dense residential areas in a city where economic activities are spread apart may make the city more financially sustainable by providing a greater tax base for a given infrastructure, but it will not reduce car-dependency much, if at all.

30) Keeping wealth close to home: How economic development districts can promote local prosperity.

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