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For more than twenty years, POLICOM has assisted and advised communities on how to improve their local economies.

POLICOM analyzes local and state economies, determines if they are growing or declining, identifies what is causing this to happen, and offers ideas and solutions to improve the situation.

From its research and educational programs, community and government leaders discover what is driving their economy and what the community will have to do to enhance the "economic quality of life" for the people living and working in the area.

Welcome to POLICOM

 

POLICOM has prepared a study which provides guidance on how to create a community economic development incentive program. To download the study, click here.

Click here to download The Flow of Money ... How a Local Economy Grows and Expands.

2025 Economic Strength Rankings Postponed Indefinitely.

Typically, POLICOM announces its annual Economic Strength Rankings February 1 of each year.

Claiming budget constraints, for the first time in at least thirty years, the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA), US Department of Commerce failed to publish the local area economic data necessary for creating the Economic Strength Rankings.

At least two-thirds of the data necessary to determine the rankings is not available for 2023, which is needed to create the 2025 rankings.

Annually in the Fall of each year, the BEA publishes the Regional Economic Information System (REIS) dataset, which is very comprehensive, including data for worker earnings, employment, wages, and a host of other issues relating to personal income. Datasets are provided for every county, Metropolitan and Micropolitan area, and each state.

Most important, REIS data for each area is “cumulative” annually, as the BEA adds data for the most recent year to a time series dating back to 1969. REIS has been used by economists for many years as the primary data tool to evaluate local area economic trends.

HOWEVER, the November 2024 release of local area data, which added the year 2023 to the data series, did not include any data for employment and government transfers.

POLICOM asked the BEA why the employment data was withheld and the BEA responded as follows:

Beginning with our release of 2023 personal income statistics for counties on November 14th (2024), BEA discontinued publishing statistics for employment, detailed personal current transfer receipts, and farm income and expenses for counties and metropolitan areas, due to budget constraints. – Bureau of Economic Analysis.

There is no data for county-based employment for 2023 on the BEA website.

POLICOM believes claiming “budget constraints” is the reason for discontinuing reporting employment data is a bit suspicious. The budget for the BEA increased by more than 10% between fiscal years 2023 and 2024.

In August of 2024, the Bureau of Labor Statistics admitted it overestimated employment growth in the United States by more than 800,000 jobs from March of 2023 to March of 2024.

It is more likely employment data was withheld by the BEA because the collection process for 2023 was so inaccurate no agency wanted a paper trail, which would identify a source or reason for the gross inaccuracies.

POLICOM hopes the new administration will clean up the data mess and the 2025 rankings can be created.

For its community economic analysis, POLICOM will use the REIS 2023 version which includes data from 1969 - 2022. It will use alternative sources for employment estimates.

As a result, the 2024 Economic Strength Rankings are the “best available.”

Go to either Metropolitan Areas or Micropolitan Areas for their respective rankings.

Download the PDF version for a discussion of the results and the methodology used to create the rankings.