State & Local Government Policy, Business and Technology

What Does the Economic Forecast Look Like for U.S. Metro Areas?

Route Fifty: WASHINGTON — The global economy is expanding briskly, an economic forecaster told mayors here last week. That's good news for many U.S. metro areas.

But Jim Diffley, of IHS Markit, also cautioned that the nation's economic growth would likely slow in 2020, partly due to tightness in the labor market. And he said coastal U.S. metro economies, in both the east and west, were generally showing greater strength than those in other areas, raising concerns about regional economic divides.

Immigration was another issue that came up during the meeting where Diffley spoke. In attendance were members of the U.S. Conference of Mayors Council on Metro Economies and the New American City. The panel convened during the conference's annual winter meeting, held here Wednesday through Friday.

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