Marilyn Geewax presents 5 Local Economic Stories to Jump on Now, a free business journalism webinar hosted by the Donald W. Reynolds National Center for Business Journalism. Check out additional resources from this webinar at the following link: http://businessjournalism.org/2013/01/15/5-local-economic-stories-to-jump-on-now-self-guided-training/. For more information about free training for business journalists, please visit businessjournalism.org.

1. As 2013 begins…
(At Least) 5 Local
Economic Stories to
Jump On Now
Day One
Marilyn Geewax
NPR Senior Business Editor

2. What We Will Explore Today
• The 2013 Economy: Another Recession
Coming? Or A Boom?
• What Does President Obama Want?
• What Does the GOP-led House Want?
• What Do Business Groups Want?
• What Does Labor Want?
• Tomorrow: How can you find local
angles?

3. Five Years of Troubles

4. Job Losses – The Key Problem

5. Unemployment Shot Up
http://data.bls.gov/timeseries/LNS14000000

6. 2008 Was A Brutal Year
http://www.tradingeconomics.com/united-states/gdp-growth

7. Try to Remember…
• Think Back to January 2008.
• Did You
Realize Then
That The U.S.
Economy Was
Tanking?

8. You Rarely Know What’s
Happening in Such a Big Economy
The slowdown in the housing
sector “is a concern, but at this
point we don't see it as being a
broad financial concern or a major
factor in assessing the course of
the economy.”
-- Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke
Speaking to the House in February
2007.

9. POLL QUESTION #1
Please answer by clicking the radio button on the upcoming screen.
What’s coming in 2013?
• A recession
• A boom
• Slow growth
• I don’t know.

10. What’s Coming in 2013?
Q. Another Recession?
Or A Boom?
A. Most economists say
the economy is
growing, but at a
sluggish pace.

11. Jobless Rate – The Key Number
• 7.7 percent today, which is lousy
• But in October 2009, it was 10 percent
http://data.bls.gov/timeseries/LNS14000000

12. 12 Million Unemployed Now
Nearly 5 million are Long-Term Unemployed

13. 3.7 Million Job Openings

14. New-Home Sales Up 15% from
the Same Time Last Year

15. GDP Is Rising
http://www.tradingeconomics.com/united-states/gdp-growth

16. POLL QUESTION #2
Please answer by clicking the radio button on the upcoming screen.
Which state has the lowest
unemployment rate?
• Oregon
• North Dakota
• Virginia
• Nebraska

17. Fair To Say the Economy is Uneven,
with Huge Regional Differences
• North Dakota is looking great, with 3.1
percent unemployment.
Oil rig in Williston, N.D., by Flickr user lindsey gee

18. POLL QUESTION #3
Please answer by clicking the radio button on the upcoming screen.
Which state has the highest
unemployment rate?
• California
• Florida
• Nevada
• Arizona

19. Fair To Say the Economy is Uneven,
with Huge Regional Differences
• North Dakota is looking great, with 3.1
percent unemployment
• But in Nevada, the
jobless rate remains
nearly 11 percent.
Photo by Flickr user Thomas Hawk

20. Some Economists Think 2013
Could Bring Much Better Growth
Three reasons:
1. Energy Expansion
2. Agriculture Boom
3. Construction Resumption

21. Booming Oil Industry Struggling
to Fill Job Openings
http://www.npr.org/2012/05/09/152366886/booming-oil-industry-struggles-to-fill-jobs

22. Farmers Have Been Adding Land
Abby Fentress Swanson/Harvest Public Media

23. New-Home Sales Create Jobs for
Landscapers, Furniture Stores, Etc.

24. POLL QUESTION #4
Please answer by clicking the radio button on the upcoming screen.
On a scale of 1 (Nevada – highest
employment) to 5 (North Dakota – lowest
employment)…
Where would you rank your state’s
employment?

25. What Does President Obama
Want?
• More Jobs
• Deficit Reduction
• Corporate-Tax Reform
• Immigration Reform
• More Green Energy
• Transportation-Infrastructure Upgrades
http://www.whitehouse.gov/economy

26. American Recovery and
Reinvestment Act of 2009

27. What Do House Republicans Want?
• Lower Corporate Taxes
• Cut Federal Spending
• Expand Energy Extraction and Refining
• Reform Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac
http://www.speaker.gov/initiatives

28. GOP Has Had Few Wins Lately
Win McNamee/Getty Images

29. What Does Business Want?
• Corporate-Tax Reform
• More Spending for Roads, Bridges, Ports
and Airports
• Immigration Reform
• Better Schools and Universities
• Tort Reform
http://tinyurl.com/b9ka87z

30. What Does Labor Want?
• More Spending for Transportation,
Schools and Energy Infrastructure
• Trade-Policy Reforms
• More Federal Aid to State and Local
Governments to Prevent Layoffs
• Wall Street Reforms
• Minimum-Wage Hike
http://www.aflcio.org/Issues

32. By Tomorrow:
Email your favorite local economic stories
to Cassandra.Nicholson@businessjournalism.org.
We’ll share the links!