Introducing

Charles Steindel

Charles Steindel has been editor of Business Economics, the journal of the National Association for Business Economics, since 2016. From 2014 to 2021 he was Resident Scholar at the Anisfield School of Business, Ramapo College of New Jersey. From 2010 to 2014 he was the first Chief Economist of the New Jersey Department of the Treasury, with responsibilities for economic and revenue projections and analysis of state economic policy. He came to the Treasury after a long career at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, where he played a major role in forecasting and policy advice and rose to the rank of Senior Vice-President. He has served in leadership positions in a number of professional organizations. In 2011 he received the William F. Butler Award from the New York Association for Business Economics, is a fellow of NABE and of the Money Marketeers of New York University, and has received several awards for articles published in Business Economics. In 2017 he delivered Ramapo College's Sebastian J. Raciti Memorial Lecture. He is a member of the panel for the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia's Survey of Professional Forecasters and of the Committee on Research in Income and Wealth. He has published papers in a range of areas, and is the author of Economic Indicators for Professionals: Putting the Statistics into Perspective. He received his bachelor's degree from Emory University, his Ph.D. from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and is a National Association for Business Economics Certified Business EconomistTM.

Publications by Charles Steindel

• USA| May 06 2026

  State Labor Markets in March 2026

  State labor markets were, yet again, generally little-changed in March. Three (Texas, Florida, and Tennessee) had statistically significant increases in payrolls. The sum of the changes across the states was 201,700; not very different than the (currently reported) national change of 178,000.

  No state reported a statistically significant change in its unemployment rate. 26 states (including DC) had rates significantly different than the national 4.3%, although three of the four largest states (Florida, Texas, and New York) had rates not significantly different (indeed, the rate in Texas was 4.3%). Rates at or above 5.0% were in DC, Delaware, Nevada, California, Oregon, Illinois, Washington, and Michigan, with DC’s 6.3% the highest. Alabama, Hawaii, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Vermont had unemployment rates under 3.0%, while South Dakota’s 2.3% was the lowest in the nation.

  Puerto Rico’s unemployment rate was unchanged at 5.6% and the island’s job count rose 1,800.

  by:Charles Steindel

  |in:Viewpoints
• USA| Apr 21 2026

  State Coincident Indexes in January 2026

  The Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia’s state coincident indexes in January were generally soft. In the one-month changes, California was the only state to have an increase as high as .50 percent, while 14 recorded declines. Over the three months ending in January, there were four states with increase of more than 1 percent (California was highest, with a 1.20 percent gain), but 13 were down, with 3—Montana, Delaware, and West Virginia—off by more than 1 percent. Over the 12 months from January 2025 to January 2026, five states were down (West Virginia by a very large 4.37 percent), and 7 others had increases of less than one percent. Only 3 states saw increases of 3 percent or more, with Nevada’s 3.76 percent at the top.

  The independently estimated national estimates of growth over the last three and twelve months were, respectively, .61 and 1.78 percent. Both seem to be in line with what the state numbers would have suggested.

  by:Charles Steindel

  |in:Viewpoints
• USA| Apr 09 2026

  State GDP and Personal Income in Q4 2025

  State real GDP growth rates in 2025:Q4 ranged from -8.3% in DC to 3.8% in North Dakota. The plunge in DC was related to the federal shutdown (Maryland also had a marked decline). North Dakota was an outlier on the other side, reflecting a pickup farm output. Most states had sluggish growth rates within a point of the nation’s .5%.

  Personal income growth rates ranged from -4.0% in North Dakota to Hawaii’s astronomical 41.5%. Hawaii’s gain was the result of a large settlement payment related to the 2023 Maui wildfire. North Dakota’s loss stemmed from a sharp drop in earnings (compensation plus proprietors’ income). Most states saw gains trailing the national growth rate of 3.4%; with the exception of California the larger states typically saw higher growth rates.

  by:Charles Steindel

  |in:Viewpoints
• USA| Apr 08 2026

  State Labor Markets in January 2026

  On balance, state labor markets were fairly stable in January. Several states had statistically significant gains in payrolls, led by California’s 93,500 (.5 percent) surge. In other large states Texas was up 40,100 and Illinois 18,000-both increases of .3 percent. DC was the only significant drop; down 5,400 (.7 percent). Most other states had insignificant gains (these amounted to more than 20,000 in Florida and New York). As one might expect, most of the DC job loss was in government.

  The only state to experience a statistically significant change in its unemployment rate was Florida, which saw a .2 percentage point gain. The highest unemployment rates were in DC (6.7%), California (5.4%), Delaware (5.4%), Nevada (5.3%), New Jersey (5.2%), Oregon (5.2%), Michigan (5.0%), and Washington (5.0%). Alabama, Hawaii, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Vermont had unemployment rates below 3.0%, with Hawaii and South Dakota’s the lowest, both at 2.2%.

  Puerto Rico’s unemployment rate was unchanged at 5.7% and the island’s job count edged down 400.

  by:Charles Steindel

  |in:Viewpoints
• USA| Jan 30 2026

  State Coincident Indexes in December 2025

  Yet again, the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia’s state coincident indexes in December were generally soft. In the one-month changes, Kentucky and Missouri were the only states with increases above .50 percent. 16 were down, with West Virginia off by more than one percent. Over the three months ending in December, Missouri was the only state with an increase higher than 1 percent (Idaho was up .99 percent), while eight fell, with Delaware off more than 1 percent and West Virginia down more than two percent. Over the last twelve months, four states were down (Delaware by more than two percent), and seven others saw increases of less than one percent. Seven states saw increases of 3 percent or more, with Alabama’s 3.91 percent at the top.

  The independently estimated national estimates of growth over the last three and twelve months were, respectively, .38 and 1.84 percent. The three-month reading seems to be in line with what the state numbers would have suggested, while the twelve-month one appears to be lower.

  by:Charles Steindel

  |in:Viewpoints
• USA| Jan 27 2026

  State Labor Markets in December 2025

  State labor markets were again soft in December. No state had a statistically significant change in payroll employment; the largest absolute gain was a 19,700 increase in Texas, which was barely .1 percent.

  Six states saw statistically significant increases in their unemployment rates (Delaware, Florida, Illinois, Minnesota, Oklahoma, and Washington)—Delaware’s was up .3 percentage points. The highest unemployment rates were in DC (6.7%), California (5.5%), New Jersey (5.4%), Delaware (5.2%), Nevada (5.2%), Oregon (5.2%), and Michigan (5.0%). Alabama, Hawaii, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Vermont had unemployment rates below 3.0%, with Hawaii and South Dakota’s the lowest, both at 2.2%.

  Puerto Rico’s unemployment rate was again unchanged at 5.7% and the island’s job count rose by 3,600.

  by:Charles Steindel

  |in:Viewpoints
• USA| Jan 23 2026

  State GDP and Personal Income in Q3 2025

  State real GDP growth rates in 2025:3 ranged from 0.4% in North Dakota to 6.5% in Kansas. North Dakota’s performance was a major outlier (Minnesota was the next weakest state, with a 2.7% real growth rate) and appears largely attributable to a major, but localized, contraction in agricultural output. The vast majority of states had growth rates above 3.3% (in Massachusetts). Among larger states, Pennsylvania and North Carolina stood out with 5.6% growth rates (Michigan and Ohio were also above 5%0, while Florida’s rate was 3.5%. Manufacturing and finance were major contributors to growth, and states in the Midwest, as well as New York, benefitted from those.

  Personal income growth rates ranged from 6.3% in Kansas to 0.1% in Louisiana. The weakness in Louisiana was due to an aberrant sharp contraction in transfer payments following very strong growth in the second quarter. On the flip side, gains in transfers played an outside role in New York’s 4.2% . Earnings growth was unusually high in Iowa and South Dakota; unusually low in Oklahoma.

  by:Charles Steindel

  |in:Viewpoints
• USA| Jan 13 2026

  State Coincident Indexes in November in 2025

  The Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia’s state coincident indexes in November continued to be generally soft. In the one-month changes, Hawaii, Missouri, and Nevada had increases above .50 percent, but 12 were down, with West Virginia off by more than one percent. Over the three months ending in November, four states (Hawaii, Missouri, Iowa, and Alabama) had increases of 1.00 percent or more, while eight fell, with Montana and West Virginia seeing declines of more than one percent. Over the last twelve months, three states were down (Delaware by nearly 1 ½ percent), and seven others saw increases of less than one percent. Nine states saw increases of 3 percent or more, with Alabama’s 3.89 percent at the top.

  The independently estimated national estimates of growth over the last three and twelve months were, respectively, .44 and 2.15 percent. The three=month reading seems to be in line with what the state numbers would have suggested, while the twelve-month one appears to be a bit lower.

  Due to the absence of state unemployment rates for October, the indexes were computed using a modified method.

  by:Charles Steindel

  |in:Viewpoints
• USA| Jan 07 2026

  State Labor Markets in November in 2025

  November was another soft month for state labor markets. No state had a statistically significant change in payroll employment, though the raw increases in California (32,500). New York (17,100), as well as the decline in Illinois (9,700) look to be of some note. However, no state appears to have had a change as large as .2 percent. In the October numbers, the federal cuts were reflected in large, most likely statistically significant, drops in DC, Maryland, and Virginia.

  State unemployment rates in November were generally, though not universally, higher in November than in September (there are no unemployment figures for October, due to the federal government shutdown). Delaware and West Virginia’s unemployment rates were .4 percentage points higher in November than in September, and a number of other states saw increases of .3 percentage points. Hawaii’s rate dropped .3 percentage points. The highest unemployment rates were in DC (6.5%), California (5.5%), New Jersey (5.4%), Nevada (5.2%), New Jersey (5.2%), Oregon (5.2%), and Michigan (5.0%). Alabama, Hawaii, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Vermont had unemployment rates under 3.0%, while South Dakota’s 2.1% was the lowest in the nation.

  Puerto Rico’s unemployment rate was unchanged at 5.7% (remarkably, there is an October unemployment rate estimate for Puerto Rico) and the island’s job count rose by 1,700.

  by:Charles Steindel

  |in:Viewpoints
• USA| Sep 26 2025

  State GDP and Personal Income in Q2 2025

  State real GDP growth rates in 2025:2 ranged from -1.1% in Arkansas (Mississippi fell at a 0.9% rate) to 7.3% in North Dakota. States in the Plains benefited from a turnaround in farm output after declines in the first quarter, and there were also increases in mining output in some of those. Arkansas and Mississippi were dragged down by losses in farm output. Strong increases in finance and information helped boost growth in states such as California, New York, and Massachusetts.

  Personal income growth rates ranged from 10.4% in Kansas to 0.9% in Arkansas. In the majority of states, perhaps most notably Massachusetts, increases in transfer payments significantly swelled the income gains related to state GDP growth. Much of the transfer growth reflected the recent retroactive payments to some Social Security beneficiaries.

  This release also included estimates of consumer spending by state for 2024. Given the marked lag in the release of these numbers, and their annual frequency, they are likely not of much interest in assessing current and perspective conditions, either for the nation as a whole or for individual states, though they may be of help in modeling state revenues.

  by:Charles Steindel

  |in:Viewpoints
• USA| Sep 25 2025

  State Coincident Indexes in August 2025

  The Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia’s state coincident indexes in August were on the soft side, but a touch better than the initial July results. In the one-month changes, while four states (Kentucky, Rhode Island, Colorado and Alabama) had increases above .50 percent, seven were down. Over the three months ending in August, Alabama was on top, with two other states (Kentucky and Colorado) also seeing increases above one percent. Five states saw declines, with Maryland down .60 percent. Over the last twelve months, Iowa was down, and four others saw increases of less than one percent. Alabama was the only state with an increase higher than four percent (Idaho was up 3.62 percent), and eight others were at or higher than three percent.

  The independently estimated national estimates of growth over the last three and twelve months were, respectively, .38 and 2.25 percent. Both measures appear to be a bit lower than what the state numbers would have suggested.

  by:Charles Steindel

  |in:Viewpoints
• USA| Sep 19 2025

  State Labor Markets in August 2025

  State labor markets were little-changed in August. Utah saw a statistically significant increase in payrolls and DC saw a drop. No other state had a significant change.

  The unemployment rose a significant .2 percentage points in Delaware and Maryland, while increasing .1 percentage point in Minnesota. Colorado’s rate fell .3 percentage point, and Alabama was down .1.California. The highest unemployment rates were in DC (6.0%), California (5.5%), Nevada (5.4%), Michigan (5.2%), New Jersey, Ohio, and Oregon (all 5.0%). Alabama, Hawaii, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Vermont had unemployment rates under 3.0%, while South Dakota’s 1.9% was the lowest in the nation.

  Puerto Rico’s unemployment rate edged up to 5.6% and the island’s job count rose 3,100.

  by:Charles Steindel

  |in:Viewpoints