Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

St. Cloud Area Quarterly Business Report, Vol. 23, No. 4, King Banaian, Richard A. Macdonald

St. Cloud Area Quarterly Business Report

The economic recovery from the unrelenting COVID shock continues in the St. Cloud area as firms report an optimistic future outlook and employment grows. However, underlying this optimism are increases in wages, prices, capital expenditures, and worker shortages that may prove unsustainable in a post-COVID economy. Strong future optimism by surveyed firms is restrained by the reality that monetary and fiscal stimulus is abating perhaps faster than the pandemic.

Data released by the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED) indicate St. Cloud area employment increased 2% over the twelve months ending October 2021, but still 4,493 (4%) below …

St. Cloud Area Quarterly Business Report, Vol. 23, No. 3, King Banaian, Richard A. Macdonald

St. Cloud Area Quarterly Business Report

St. Cloud area economic recovery has begun as year-over-year regional employment has grown and surveyed local firms project strong business activity. While the pandemic appears to have created scars in the local economy that plague some of our local service sectors, many area firms continue to report challenges that are typically associated with rapid expansion—labor shortages, price increases, accelerating wage growth, etc. Data released by the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED) indicate St. Cloud area employment increased 4.3 percent over the twelve months ending July 2021. However, employment in the Stearns-Benton Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) is still …

St. Cloud Area Quarterly Business Report, Vol. 23, No. 2, King Banaian, Richard Macdonald

St. Cloud Area Quarterly Business Report

The St. Cloud area economy is poised to exit recession as a variety of indicators suggest a broad-based recovery is on the horizon. While year-over-year data comparisons are now complicated by the historic decline in economic activity that occurred twelve months ago, there are signs that the pace of local economic activity continues to improve for many area firms. The pandemic has created scars in the local economy that will likely persist for months and years to come, but many area firms now seem to be experiencing challenges that are typically associated with rapid expansion—labor shortages, price increases, accelerating wage …