Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia

On this Fourth of July, let us remember the ideals of freedom and equality for all as we celebrate our nation's independence. Happy Independence Day!

Economic educators from the Federal Reserve welcome elementary school teachers for a one-day professional development program that introduces lessons for teaching students about money, and other economics and personal finance concepts using children’s literature. The lessons demonstrated in this program provide educators with grade-level appropriate activities for teaching about decision-making, spending and saving, allocation methods, opportunity cost, scarcity, and productive resources. Learn more and register to join us on Wednesday, July 31. https://bit.ly/3wGIha8 Participants who complete the session will receive 6.50 hours of professional development credit (Act 48 in Pennsylvania for certified teachers) and copies of children’s books and all lessons. Breakfast and lunch will be provided. Participants can request free parking during the registration process. #EconomicEducation #ProfessionalDevelopment #FinancialEducation #ElementaryEducation #ChildrensLiterature

Join us in welcoming Pete Ruggiero, president and CEO of Crayola, to our Economic and Community Advisory Council (ECAC). Ruggiero joins the ECAC in place of Rich Wuerthele, following his retirement from Crayola. https://bit.ly/4cFzRiH

Boston Fed President and CEO Susan M. Collins and First Vice President Karen Pennell joined other leaders from across the Federal Reserve System on a visit to Chelsea, Mass. They learned about local economic conditions and the lasting impacts of the Bank’s Working Cities Challenge. Chelsea received a three-year grant in 2014 through the challenge, which focuses on promoting economic development in smaller, post-industrial cities. Read the full recap: https://bit.ly/45IGpuG

Most small businesses across our region reported that their financial conditions were either poor or fair in 2023, according to data from the Fed’s Small Business Credit Survey conducted in the fall of 2023. Four new briefs provide a snapshot of small business conditions in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, the Philadelphia metro area, and the Third District states overall (Delaware, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania). Here’s what small business owners said about the conditions in 2023: • The biggest operational challenges were hiring or retaining qualified staff, reaching customers or growing sales, and supply chain issues. • The biggest financial challenges? Rising costs of goods, services, and/or wages; paying operating expenses; uneven cash flow; and weak sales. https://bit.ly/3zcSXOF

Respondents to the April 2024 Labor, Income, Finances, and Expectations (LIFE) Survey report slightly more concern about making ends meet in the coming year, when compared with January 2024. Targeting a cross-sectional sample of U.S. adults, the survey finds also finds: • Most of the increase in concern about making ends meet came among those who can currently pay all of their bills. This group reported significant increases in worry compared with both the previous quarter and the previous year. • Respondents in April 2024 were less positive about their income prospects than respondents in January 2024, but they remain more positive than respondents from one year earlier. • Exposure to illness remains the most reported concern about working in the next 30 days for employed respondents; accessing reliable transportation and employer cutting my job increased the most since January 2024. • One-half of all respondents reported experiencing a financial disruption in the prior 12 months (virtually unchanged from January 2024), with significant nonmedical expense remaining the most reported disruption. https://bit.ly/3VEcQ8Z

Anchor institutions are large, public-facing, public-serving institutions whose jobs and services support local economic activity. They are often among their area’s biggest employers and major purchasers of goods and services, but they also serve as critical partners in economic and community development. For example, in 2019, anchor institutions supported 569,500 jobs in New Jersey, generated nearly $44 billion in employment income, and contributed more than $65 billion to the state’s gross domestic product (GDP). Check out this Fed Communities blog written by Deborah Diamond, director of the Anchor Economy Initiative at the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia and explore the Anchor Economy Dashboard to see how these institutions impact your local area. https://bit.ly/3XCuDzZ

The Historical Housing Prices Project offers a novel view of the price of housing for rent and sale in U.S cities over the 20th century. Drawing on more than 2.7 million archival newspaper real estate listings, researchers construct new series on the price of housing over the long run. https://bit.ly/3KWQGKb Key findings in the companion study revise some long-held observations about the U.S. housing market. Read “The Price of Housing in the United Stated, 1890–2006” from Philadelphia Fed Economic Advisor and Economist Allison Shertzer and her coauthors Ronan C. Lyons, Rowena Gray, and David Agorastos to learn more. https://bit.ly/4cbyJn3 Part of the Philadelphia Fed’s Center for the Restoration of Economic Data (CREED), the goal of the project is to inform research and policymaking.

“Just like everyone else, LGBTQ+ people need to see themselves in society and work.” In honor of Pride Month, Mike Frank, structure lead analyst in Financial Statistics and member of the Freedom Employee Resource Group (ERG), shares his thoughts in this Q&A. What does Pride Month mean to you? Pride Month commemorates the birth of the LGBTQ+ civil rights movement in the US, which began with five nights of rioting in June 1969 following a police raid on the Stonewall Inn, a LGBTQ+ bar in NYC. Since then, protests have turned into celebrations, but I am reminded of how long and hard my predecessors and I fought for the rights many now take for granted, the fact that we still have a long way to go, and the fact that those rights can so easily be taken away. What does being a member of the Freedom ERG mean to you? I am very happy the Philadelphia Fed has a LGBTQ+ ERG. One reason is because it gives LGBTQ+ employees and allies an opportunity to meet each other. Feeling a sense of community, and the belonging and inclusion that come with it, is very important. It is also important to know that Bank leadership sees and supports me. Why is representation and visibility of LGBTQ+ individuals in the workplace and broader community important? Just like everyone else, LGBTQ+ people need to see themselves in society and work. Growing up, I never saw or heard anything positive about people like me. This led to a state of denial and dark thoughts for many years. I felt alone and alienated, and I still carry some of that baggage with me. I don’t want other LGBTQ+ people to feel like I did. And while we’ve come a long was as an American society, we still have a very long way to go. So the more that LGBTQ+ individuals see people like them in a positive light on TV, in public, or at work, the more confident they will feel, and the more productive and innovative they will be. Thank you, Mike, for sharing your story!

Wage inequality dipped after COVID, but as Kevin Curran explains, the pandemic didn’t reverse the trend of greater inequality in the country’s largest cities. Read about the longer-term regional income inequality trends in the latest Economic Insights. https://bit.ly/3VKI4fR Read our Q&A with Kevin Curran, senior economic analyst, to learn more about his work at the Philadelphia Fed. https://bit.ly/4erMobd #WageGap #IncomeInequality #PandemicEconomics