We welcome the vibrant season of spring and are excited to share the latest updates with you in our newsletter, including timely research findings, the introduction of new members of the Community Advisory Council (CAC), and ongoing opportunities to strengthen partnerships with community stakeholders. Our commitment remains steadfast to serving the needs of low- to moderate-income (LMI) communities and underserved individuals.
This year, the Community Development team is poised to produce new research and data analysis in our key priority areas focusing on workforce development, affordable housing, and small business. In the first few months of the year, we’ve accomplished the following:
We are also excited to welcome six new members to the CAC, representing communities across the Fourth District (Ohio, western Pennsylvania, eastern Kentucky, and northern West Virgina). Each member brings expertise and leadership in diverse sectors within community and economic development. These thought leaders possess significant experience and are well-equipped to represent concerns affecting LMI individuals and communities. Here is the full list of Community Advisory Council members.
Additionally, we are committed to connecting the dots on critical issues as we collaborate with community organizations to gain insights into challenges facing LMI communities. Housing experts and homeowners share compelling stories about affordable homeownership. Gathering nonprofit organizations’ perspective on workforce, housing, financial well-being, access to credit and other critical issues people are facing for entry in the Beige Book.
We extend our heartfelt gratitude for your dedication to and passion for community development. Together, let’s embark on this journey throughout the spring and beyond, forging stronger, more resilient communities.
High turnover in childcare sector holds back broader workforce
Turnover among childcare workers was 65 percent higher than in a typical job in 2022, while attrition among preschool and kindergarten teachers was on par with the typical occupation.Find out more about this important part of the labor force.
Welcoming new members to the Community Advisory Council
The Community Advisory Council is made up of Fourth District experts and leaders who can represent concerns of underserved and lower-income individuals and communities. We are excited to welcome six new members to the CAC in 2024:
Lavea Brachman, Visiting Fellow | Brookings Institution | central Ohio
Jim King, President and CEO | Fahe | eastern Kentucky
Kurt Reiber, President and CEO | Freestore Foodbank | southern Ohio and Kentucky
Jamie Remp, Executive Director | King’s Daughters Child Care Center | Wheeling, West Virginia
David Rothstein, Senior Principal | Cities for Financial Empowerment Fund | northern Ohio
Affordable Housing and Quality Neighborhoods
"Everything revolves around where we live": affordable homeownership in Ohio
This multimedia story from the Cleveland Fed explores the state of affordable homeownership through video, photography, and stories from a real estate agent, two recent homebuyers in Ohio, the leaders of housing-related nonprofits, and researchers. Housing experts and researchers discuss why affordable homeownership matters, how the affordable homeownership market has changed in recent years and why, what is being done to help increase access to affordable housing, and where we might go from here.
How CDFIs are meeting the needs of potential homeowners
The Federal Reserve's annual CDFI survey highlighted innovative practices for supporting homebuyers, homeowners, and residential real estate developers. Learn more about the survey findings.
Increase in visits to food banks prompts look at food insecurity
Inflation and the expiration of pandemic aid are examined as potential causes of rising food insecurity in the region in this Notes from the Field.
Keeping a pulse on the Fourth District
The Federal Reserve’s Beige Book includes sections devoted to the conditions of lower-income individuals and communities. The most recent report includes the following insights from the Fourth District:
Fourth District contact reports suggested that employment was flat during the recent reporting period, with most firms indicating that their overall staffing levels had not changed.
Several Fourth District contacts said that access to transportation and quality childcare remained barriers for job seekers in obtaining and retaining employment.
Find a summary of entries related to conditions in LMI communities here.
How is postpandemic migration changing urban neighborhoods?
See how migration trends impact age, credit risk, income, homeownership, and the ethnic mix of urban neighborhoods nationally and in the region the Cleveland Fed serves in thisDistrict Data Brief.
Small Business
New Fed report: Small-business leaders reveal conditions and challenges of 2023
A new small-business report from the Federal Reserve suggests a further decrease of effects from the COVID-19 pandemic and a modest improvement in small-business conditions. Still, small businesses continue to face headwinds. See how small employer firms were faring in 2023 and their outlook for 2024 in the 2024 Report on Employer Firms: Findings from the 2023 Small Business Credit Survey.
Explore Small Business Credit Survey data and find the latest report on fedsmallbusiness.org
Our newly updated Fed Small Business website is where you will find the latest public reports, sharable data, and the latest on all the small business work that helps us inform policy conversations and decision-making.
More than 60 percent of Ohio’s driver’s license suspensions do not stem from bad driving; instead, they arise because the driver owes an unpaid debt. Debt-related suspensions (DRS) could prevent people from getting to work, where they could make the money needed to repay the debt. In this report, we investigate whether DRS have implications for Ohio’s labor force.
Women in the workforce seek balance and access to community
Explore the real stories of four women striving for work–life balance, as revealed through the Aspen Institute’s Women in the Economy survey. They share their ideas about how the economy might work better for women.
How self-reported disability status and immigration are affecting the postpandemic labor supply
A New economic commentary finds that further large increases in labor supply are unlikely based on analyses of the disabled labor force and the foreign-born labor force.
Examining trends in occupational mixes and wage distributions in the Fourth District’s metro areas
Overall, changes in occupational mix spurred by the COVID-19 pandemic—such as the reduction in Food Serving and Preparation employment and the increase in Transportation and Material Moving employment—were similar in District metro areas and the nation. Read more.
Events
Ohio Economic Forum
A pathway to economic growth: Improving Ohio's quality of life
