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April 2018 Summary of Select Trends
Click on the source in (parenthesis) to visit the full article Migration Each year, tens of millions of people chose a new home, and some of them chose your town. The U.S. Census Bureau has a new report exploring a dataset about why people move. According to the report, almost half of movers said housing was the reason they relocated. Those reasons include wanting better neighborhoods and better homes, wanting to own rather than rent, and less pleasant reasons like being evicted. (Livability) Cybersecurity The City of Atlanta was hacked. A remote ransomware attack held the city’s data hostage behind an encrypted wall that the attackers would lower if the city paid $51,000 ransom in bitcoin tokens. The city’s critical functions were significantly compromised as city employees had no email or internet access, city residents could not pay electric bills, the Atlanta International Airport had no WiFi, and manual processes had to be implemented across key city departments, including the city jail. (Futurism) Technology With autonomous vehicles hitting highways across the country, municipalities, local, state, and federal government must pay close attention to accidents. Tesla released a statement and photo this week revealing the severity of their crash was because a highway safety barrier was removed or previously crushed in a prior accident. Tesla’s Autopilot is said to reduce crash rates by 40 percent, the electric carmaker’s blog promises. Last week, a fatal crash in California involved a Tesla Model X while in Autopilot. Investigators are not sure what caused the crash yet. (TechCrunch) Housing The U.S. housing market is hot, with more than half (52.6 percent) of all homes nationwide worth as much or more than they were at the peak of the national housing boom in April 2007. Some markets, though, have proven hotter than others – kept at a boil by healthy income growth, abundant job opportunities and above-average housing appreciation. (Zillow) Cybersecurity Did you know residents can download Facebook data from one source? Facebook lost $80B in market value since its data crisis broke in the media in mid-March. In response to these developments and pending lawsuits against the tech giant, Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Facebook, has agreed to testify before Congress related to its dealings with Cambridge Analytica and its privacy practices. Also, Facebook is now making it easier to find and set privacy settings on profiles on the social network. (CNN) [VIDEO] Here’s a quick summary of what Facebook is doing to update privacy tools and its Terms of Service and Data Policy in light of its recent data crises. (Bloomberg) Taxes The new tax law might help push up interest rates. Because of this year’s enacted tax cuts, the Treasury Department is set to go on a borrowing binge compared with last year. As government borrowing goes up, economists warn that interest rates will be pushed higher and make it more expensive for companies and consumers to get loans for things like car payments, home improvements, or student loans. (CNBC) Workplace Ready or not, new disability claims procedures take effect on April 1st. Revised procedures could also impact retirement plans, medical coverage, and other types of benefits – not just ‘disability’ plans. Plan sponsors are required to issue a summary of material modifications (SMM) for affected participants within 120 days. Changes to the documents are relatively small compared to the updated procedures expected by employers starting with the next disability claim filed on or after the first of next month. (SHRM) Workplace Have a retention problem? Have trouble finding quality candidates for open positions? Take a look at your benefits package. One-third of workers cited benefits as a reason to stay with their current employer. Nearly another one-third of workers said benefits were a reason to leave their currently employer. (HR Today) Health Care Maryland is paying hospitals to keep patients out of them. Health insurance premiums and government health care programs in the U.S. are high compared to other developed countries. In 2014, one medical center in Maryland implemented a statewide hospital-payment system that penalizes – rather than rewards – hospitals for admitting patients to the ER when less expensive care is available nearby. In three years, the system saved approximately half a billion dollars and exceeded its five-year performance goal for reductions in hospitalization and improvements in quality of care. (U.S. News) Economics Consumers spent more money over the holidays last year than anticipated. Retailers reported best holiday sales growth in six years. The U.S. economy grew faster than estimated in the last quarter of 2017 and at pace with what the federal government has set as a target for the economy. (Business Insider) Housing Median rent nationwide is accelerating at its fastest annual pace in 21 months, climbing 2.8 percent year-over-year to $1,445 in February. Rent appreciation slowed between 2015 and mid-2017 but has once again gained speed, in part because for-sale inventory is so tight that it’s becoming harder for renters to find homes they want and can afford to buy. Without substantial new apartment construction over the past half decade, rent appreciation would be even stronger. (Zillow) |
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Cobalt Community Research is a national 501c3 nonprofit, non-partisan coalition that helps local governments, schools and membership organizations affordably engage communities through high-quality surveys, dynamic population segmentation, focus groups and work groups that use instant audience feedback technology. Cobalt combines big data with local insights to help you thrive as changes emerge in the economic, demographic and social landscape. Explore how we can help you by calling 877.888.0209, or by emailing [email protected].
Cobalt Community Research is a national 501c3 nonprofit, non-partisan coalition that helps local governments, schools and membership organizations affordably engage communities through high-quality surveys, dynamic population segmentation, focus groups and work groups that use instant audience feedback technology. Cobalt combines big data with local insights to help you thrive as changes emerge in the economic, demographic and social landscape. Explore how we can help you by calling 877.888.0209, or by emailing [email protected].