Decatur, Enterprise and Jasper are “signal cities” that act as early warning systems on the economy, according to MarketBeat.
MarketBeat is a financial media company that recently surveyed 3,021 business leaders asking: where does change happen first? The results indicate that the economies of Decatur, Enterprise and Jasper can act as signals to the rest of the state regarding local shifts in hiring, consumer behavior and supply chain logistics.
“As we move through an unpredictable economic landscape, these signal cities offer something rare: real-time glimpses into how economic shifts take root and ripple,” said Matt Palson, founder of MarketBeat.
Decatur, with its economy heavily dependent on aerospace, chemicals and river-based freight, is an indicator of economic shocks to the manufacturing supply chain. When manufacturing starts to slow and volume dips along the Tennessee River, Decatur tends to feel it first.
Military influence from nearby Fort Novosel impacts Enterprise’s economy, which sees a dip in discretionary spending that local businesses notice when defense budgets tighten. This city also draws heavily from rural communities around it, giving it a read on fuel prices, home construction and employment shifts, according to MarketBeat.
Located northwest of Birmingham, Jasper is a key shopping and service center destination. Its retail market is sustained by consumer confidence, so when that starts to slip, the retailers notice. Jasper also has a heavy presence in health care, logistics and coal, which can act as signalers for the economies of central and north Alabama.
MarketBeat asked its respondents what actually triggers alarm bells for most people. Nearly half of the respondents said the clearest red flag is when a major employer starts laying off workers. That response was followed by local businesses cutting hours or closing (30%) and rising home listings or rent drops (9%).
Most respondents indicate that they pay attention to the local economic mood, instead of watching policymakers. Some indicators are consumer behavior (43%), major employers or factories (27%), local government and public services (23%) and real estate trends (7%).
