“Covering Your Local Economy” was first offered on Aug. 21, 2013, as part of the Asian American Journalists Association’s pre-conference schedule. The economy is still the biggest story going, and these resources will equip you with the story ideas and skills you need to tackle economic stories on any beat. Get armed with the tools and understanding you need to tackle local economic stories, including those in the labor and housing markets. WHAT YOU WILL LEARN How to find the economic angle in stories on any beat, How to use statistics to find and develop local economic stories, How to find fresh angles on the job and housing markets in your town, and What 10 stories on the economy you should jump on now. YOUR INSTRUCTORS Marilyn Geewax is the national economics correspondent for NPR. Geewax is regularly heard discussing economic news on Tell Me More, Talk of the Nation and Weekend Edition. Her work contributed to NPR’s 2011 Edward R. Murrow Award for Hard News for “The Foreclosure Nightmare.” Follow her on Twitter at @geewaxnpr Meena Thiruvengadam is business channel manager at Digital First Media’s Project Thunderdome. Previously, she covered the Treasury, Federal Reserve and economic news for Dow Jones Newswires and The Wall Street Journal in Washington. Follow her on Twitter at @Meena_Thiru. SELF-GUIDED LESSON Review the workshop materials below and discover new ways to cover local economic angles. PowerPoint presentations Covering Your Local Economy: It’s Everybody’s Business — Geewax When Will the Jobs Come Back? — Geewax What’s Happening with Housing — Geewax 10 Local Economic Stories to Jump on Now — Thiruvengadam For more information about training for business journalists, please visit businessjournalism.org.

1. Covering Your Local Economy:
When Will Jobs Come Back?
In 2013 …
Marilyn Geewax
NPR Senior Business Editor
mgeewax@npr.org
@geewaxnpr

2. What We Will Explore Today
• Covering the Local Labor Market is Job #1
• What Does President Obama Want?
• What Does the GOP-led House Want?
• What Do Business Groups Want?
• What Does Labor Want?
• How Can You Find the Local Angles?

3. More Than Five Years Of
A Tough Labor Market

4. Searching for Work For Months
– The Key Problem

5. No Surprise That Jobs
Disappeared as GDP Plunged
Bureau of Economic Analysis data

6. In Case You Don’t Remember,
IT WAS BAD!!
• Back in January 2009, the economy lost
779,000 jobs.
• For all of 2009, employers eliminated
about 4.7 million jobs.
• In absolute numbers, that was the single
worst year in U.S. history for job losses.
• Unemployment hit 10% by October.

7. People Started Calling It A
“Mancession” Because Losses Hit Men
Harder Than Women
• Construction
• Manufacturing
• Financial Services
.
Photo by flickr user Wayne National Forest

8. The Jobs That Are Coming Back
Tend To Be Lower-Paying
• Retail
• Food Services
• Health Aides
.
Photo by flickr user Salt Lake Chamber

9. Jobless Rate – The Key Number
• 7.4 percent today, which is lousy, but
better than in October 2009.
http://data.bls.gov/timeseries/LNS14000000

10. Around 11.5 Million Still
Searching For Jobs
Nearly 5 million are Long-Term Unemployed

11. 3.8 Million Job Openings –
Mostly For Skilled Workers

12. So How Do We Get Jobs Growing Again?
There Are Different
Approaches
• What Obama Would Do
• What House
Republicans Would Do
• What Labor Unions
Would Do
• What Businesses
Would Do
Photo by flickr user jessie owen

13. 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
Photo by flickr user Argonne
National Laboratory

14. American Recovery and
Reinvestment Act of 2009

15. 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
Photo by flickr user westchesterbuzz

16. 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
Photo by flickr user Ray Cunningham

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

18. Some Economists Think 2014 Could Bring
Much Better Growth
No Matter What Congress Does
Three reasons:
1. Energy
Expansion
2. Agriculture
Boom
3. Construction
Resumption
Photo by Iowa Farm Bureau

19. Booming Oil Industry Struggling
to Fill Job Openings

20. How Can You Tell If Your Area
Is Doing Better?
• Jobs, Jobs, Jobs (BLS.gov)
• Home Prices (S&P/Case-Shiller Index)
• Home Foreclosures (RealtyTrac)
• Local Bankers (Is Lending Improving?)
• Local Car Dealers (What Are People
Buying? Trucks for Work??)

21. http://www.bls.gov/lau
State Jobless Numbers

24. America Will Recover When
Jobs Come Back