August Benzow

Rural counties are falling behind in manufacturing job growth. While they contributed 17% of new manufacturing jobs from 2015 to 2019, they've lost 20,000 jobs since then. Read more: eig.org/manufacturing-…

Sun Belt and Mountain West states are leading the manufacturing comeback. Florida, Texas, and Utah are booming, while Rust Belt states like Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, and Wisconsin are struggling to recover.

Manufacturing employment in the United States has surpassed its pre-pandemic levels. This is the first time since 1970 that the sector has regained all the jobs it lost during a recession. 🧵

~63% of the bottom half of American workers by income lack access to an employer provided retirement plan. In the bottom decile, 82 percent of workers do not receive employer matches. Today's tax-advantaged retirement savings system fails lower-income workers. It does not have to

As the share of transfer income has risen, the way that American communities and regions sustain themselves has been radically altered. Places with very low reliance on transfers used to be the norm. Now they are an endangered species.

This is a big deal. However, it’s most likely the result of concerns about illegal immigration and border security—not legal forms of immigration. Here’s a short thread on why that’s the case.

The latest analysis from @cojobrien finds that young families are still leaving big cities post-pandemic. The under-five population in large urban counties has fallen more than 8 percent since April 2020. eig.org/families-exodu…

NEW: A mountain of research shows that high-skilled immigration is good for the economy. But what do voters think? A new survey from @InnovateEconomy & @EchelonInsights finds overwhelming support from voters of all stripes for expanding high-skilled immigration. Let's dig in. 🧵

In a new policy brief, @LettieriDC, @ModeledBehavior, and @cojobrien tackle how to design a Heartland Visa program that advances the interests of struggling regions and the broader U.S. economy: eig.org/HEARTLAND-VISA…

Move over, New York and San Francisco, the US's major job hubs are now cities like Charleston and Hilton Head, South Carolina trib.al/DqYVy6p

The most historically affluent metropolitan areas are no longer creating the majority of new jobs in the U.S. Since 2020, the contribution of high-wage metros to overall job growth declined steadily, falling below 50 percent for the first time last year. eig.org/high-wage-metr…

Americans in distressed communities struggle to build cross-class friendships. Pairing EIG’s Distressed Communities Index and @OppInsights data reveals that 34M people live in distressed zip codes that have the lowest levels of economic connectedness. eig.org/cross-class-fr…

The share of counties gaining population reached a ten-year high in 2023. But this modest rebound still pales in comparison to the widespread expansionary trends of the 1990s and 2000s.

Diving into the new Distressed Communities Index reveals zip code clusters of prosperity and distress. The standout? A cluster of 2,530 zip codes stretching ~1,500 miles from New Mexico to North Carolina, of over 15 million people distress. #EconTwitter eig.org/distressed-com…

#NEW: Today, EIG is excited to unveil a reimagined edition of a flagship research product: the Distressed Communities Index. The DCI is an interactive tool that allows users to explore the geography of community well-being across America. Start exploring: eig.org/dci

This juxtaposition highlights profound economic disparities existing within a short distance. Explore the map here: eig.org/dci.

This stark reality lies just an hour's drive from the affluent coastal enclave of zip code 33480 (Palm Beach Town, FL), where the median household income is nearly 2.5 times the state average, and less than five percent of residents live in poverty.

Zip code 33430 (Belle Glade, FL), a predominantly African American community, is one of the most distressed in the country. A third of residents live below the poverty line, and 38% are out of work.

The newest Distressed Communities Index is here, your one-stop shop for exploring economic well-being by ZIP code. Startling gaps in relative prosperity are seen all across the map.

Opportunity Zones are pulling ahead of their peers on measures of housing growth. Explore the new analysis from @kenanfikri and @ecarl_economics: eig.org/housing-unit-g…