Tracking Southeast Michigan’s Economic Health
SEMCOG has data to help local officials gauge the health of our region’s economy. Currently, there are two tools: Socio-Economic Indicators and the High-Frequency Economic Dashboard. The Socio-Economic Indicators show the yearly change for measures like employment, labor force, income, and housing units, among others. The High-Frequency Economic Dashboard has similar measures that focus on the business climate, labor market, and quality of place; however, they are updated more frequently – quarterly, monthly or weekly.
Planners and policymakers should think of the Socio-Economic Indicators as a tool to measure our region’s efforts to increase prosperity and can be used for long-term planning; whereas the High-Frequency Economic Dashboard shows more recent trends and can be useful for both long-term and short-term planning.
Here is a comparison between the two:
| Socio-Economic Indicators | High-Frequency Economic Dashboard | |
|---|---|---|
| Frequency: | Annual | Quarterly, Monthly, or Weekly |
| Geography: | County, Southeast Michigan | Varies: County, Metropolitan Division, Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA), State, and/or Nation |
| Detail: | Some measures broken down by select characteristics (e.g. age group, race) | Measures tend to be broader in scope, showing just totals |