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Economic Monthly July 2025 (PDF)
The budget reconciliation bill signed into law last week includes $29 billion for shipbuilding and repair. The funding will support the construction of new Navy ships, upgrades to shipyard infrastructure, workforce development, and subsidies for commercial vessel production. This spending is in addition to the $20.8 billion proposed in the Pentagon’s base budget for shipbuilding and repair in fiscal year 2026. These investments, along with other recent legislative initiatives, reflect a broader federal effort to rebuild the U.S. shipbuilding industrial base, a sector where Hampton Roads plays a central national role.
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Economic Monthly Report May 2025 (PDF)
The national economy plays a central role in shaping economic conditions in Hampton Roads. From federal spending to consumer demand, national trends often influence hiring, wages, and business activity in the region. Recent tariff actions have added complexity to the national outlook. Historically, tariffs tend to result in a onetime increase in prices as importers adjust, rather than driving sustained inflation.
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Economic Monthly Report April 2025 (PDF)
The U.S. Census Bureau recently released its annual population estimates for 2024, showing a continued acceleration in national population growth. The U.S. population increased by 0.98% over the year, marking the fastest rate of growth since 2018. This represents a sharp rebound from the historic lows observed during the height of the pandemic, when growth fell to just 0.1% in 2021. The growth in 2024 was driven largely by a resurgence in international migration, as global mobility resumed. Although natural population change (births minus deaths) has also stabilized and domestic migration remains a key driver in many states, international migration accounted for the largest share of national growth in 2024.
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