Economic growth is slowing for localities across the U.S., continuing a 2019 trend, Axios reports today, as consumers are holding back spending at the same time business growth is stalling.
The conclusion comes from a new Yelp data analysis tracking consumer demand and the number of business openings and closings.
Louisiana, however, was named one of the top seven growth states, according to the Yelp Economic Average score for 2019 and is expected to continue on that path. New Orleans ranked as the sixth-highest metro area for the year and is also projected to continue its success. Baton Rouge data is not noted in the report.
The data does not track online shopping. The company is projecting a continuing national decline in demand during the first quarter of 2020.
The fourth quarter of 2019 signaled the largest quarter-over-quarter decline of Yelp’s Economic Average score, a drop of about 1.3%.
Yelp says its data reflects the same trends as the national GDP. Read the full report here.
