St. Louis Burgundy Book: Transportation Employment in St. Louis Advances at Rapid Pace

ST. LOUIS –A little more than half of the respondents to a May survey of business contacts in the St. Louis Zone of the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis reported that they expect local economic conditions in 2015 will be better than in 2014. Only about one in 10 respondents expect conditions to worsen in 2015.

The information was published June 23, 2015, in the latest quarterly release of the Burgundy Books, a publication produced by the St. Louis Fed. The reports offer comprehensive economic information for each of the Bank’s four zones: St. Louis, Little Rock, Ark., Louisville, Ky., and Memphis, Tenn.

Relative to a year ago, total nonfarm payroll employment increased 0.9 percent in the first quarter of 2015 in the St. Louis metropolitan statistical area (MSA). This was a slower pace than the national average (2.3 percent). However, transportation services employment growth in the St. Louis MSA surged 3 percentage points to 8 percent, more than double the national average.

The St. Louis Zone includes central and eastern Missouri as well as southern Illinois and represents a total population of approximately 5.6 million people, including close to 3 million who live in the St. Louis MSA.

For a summary and details on other specific economic indicators such as unemployment, the housing market, auto loan delinquency and banking, see the full St. Louis report.

The next Burgundy Books will be released Sept. 22, 2015.