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Joint Economic Committee Democrats Chairman - Senator Martin Heinrich (D-NM)

Reports & Issue Briefs

Apr 07 2015

Most Recent State by State Report

March 2015: includes jobs and unemployment data through February 2015

Click here for the Executive Summary

The U.S. Congress Joint Economic Committee’s state-by-state economic snapshots provide easy access to the major economic indicators in all 50 states and the District of Columbia in the areas of jobs, unemployment, exports and housing.

Key economic statistics for each state include:

• Job growth since the recession;
• The sectors of the economy adding the most jobs;
• Unemployment rates;
• Export data; and,
• The condition of the housing sector.

Click here for the full report, including the executive summary, state reports, additional charts and sources.

To view your state's snapshot report, click on the links below:

Click here to view the net job gains and unemployment rate chart.

Click here to view Post-9/11 and total veterans' unemployment rates by state.

Click here for a list of sources used to compile the state economic snapshots.

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 The Joint Economic Committee, established under the Employment Act of 1946, was created by Congress to review economic conditions and to analyze the effectiveness of economic policy.

Feb 06 2015

The Economic Impact of the Fashion Industry

As the U.S. economy continues to grow and evolve, one of the many bright spots of our new creative economy is the fashion industry. With a growing number of high-value jobs that pay high wages, fashion is now having a big impact not only in fashion centers on the coasts, but also in smaller cities around the country.

Fashion is a $1.2 trillion global industry, with more than $250 billion spent annually on fashion in the United States, according to industry analysts. Fashion and apparel industries employ 1.9 million people in the United States and have a positive impact on regional economies across the country. New York City and Los Angeles are the two largest fashion hubs in the United States, with over two-thirds of all fashion designers employed in these cities. But they are not the whole story, and cities such as San Francisco, Nashville, and Columbus are beginning to reap economic benefits, including high-paying jobs in fashion design.

Fashion is a structurally diverse industry, ranging from major international retailers to wholesalers to large design houses to one-person design shops. It employs people across occupations—including fashion designers, computer programmers, lawyers, accountants, copywriters, social media directors, and project managers. According to a report by the California Fashion Association, manufacturing is only a fraction of the modern apparel industry as “it is a highly sophisticated industry involving fashion and market research, brand licensing/intellectual property rights, design, materials engineering, product manufacturing, marketing and finally, distribution.”