Opinion: Year-end studies point way for city, state future

Year’s end is often a time for reflection, and that includes data analysis.

A few studies recently released pinpoint some trends in Springfield and the state, as number crunchers turn out their annual work.

Three studies caught my attention: state unemployment rates that are bouncing back, the top-selling vehicles in Springfield and the best states to live off the grid.

Unemployment bounce back
When Springfield Business Journal’s editorial and design teams produced a chart showing the U.S., Missouri and Springfield’s unemployment rate trend lines in 2020, little did we know Missouri was one of the states to bounce back the most nationwide. Reporter Mike Cullinan and designer Heather Mosley charted the path from prepandemic rates in the 3%-4% range to Missouri’s 10.2% peak in April. It held high in May, then steadily declined throughout the year to resemble a mountain range before settling around 4% last month.

According to a WalletHub study, the improved jobless rate in Missouri is No. 5 among states that bounced back the most. Ahead of Missouri is South Dakota, Nebraska, Vermont and, No. 1. Iowa. The slowest bounce back rates belong to Hawaii and Nevada.

The WalletHub analysis factors U.S. Labor Department figures January through November, when the U.S. gained 245,000 jobs to bring the national unemployment rate to 6.7%. The report also compares jobless rates in November 2019 with last month’s figures for each state. As a country, we’ve bounced back from the 14.7% unemployment rate peak during the coronavirus pandemic.

According to the study, Missouri’s unemployment rate has improved by 12.6% this year through November. In these terms, Missouri’s road to recovery has been strong.

Attention: Car dealers
Hey, car dealers: Put those Ford F-150s or Chevrolet Silverado 1500s at the front of the lot. They’ll sell like hotcakes in Springfield.

That’s what a study by vehicle search engine ISeeCars.com says. The F-150 is the top-selling used vehicle in Springfield in 2020, and the Silverado took the lead for new cars sold this year.

Springfieldians actually buy a lot of trucks. In the top 5 of new and used car sales tracked by ISeeCars, trucks held six of the 10 spots combined. The others were compact SUVs. The Honda CR-V and Chevy Equinox were No. 2 in sales in the new and used categories, respectively.

Here’s the breakdown in Springfield, from Nos. 1-5, new cars: Chevy Silverado 1500, Honda CR-V, Toyota Tacoma, GMC Sierra 1500 and Toyota RAV4. And the Nos. 1-5, used cars: Ford F-150, Chevy Equinox, Chevy Silverado 1500, Ram Pickup 1500 and Ford Escape.

The Silverado is the only vehicle in the top 5 of both, so the chances are good if you got a car for Christmas, the keys were to a Silverado. Interestingly enough, no sedans are among the top sellers in town.

Springfieldians shop like the rest of the nation, actually. The F-150 and Silverado are the top-selling new and used cars in America, based on ISeeCars’ analysis of 12.9 million vehicle sales this year.

Off the grid
The choice to live off the nation’s power grid has an environmental impact, but it also may come into play to further self-sustainability and social isolation trends. Whatever the case, those of us who live in Missouri have a better opportunity than most.

Missouri ranked No. 3 in a recent study of the best states for off-grid living. With a score of 68.5 in the analysis by LawnStarter, Missouri was just behind Washington and No. 1 Kentucky. The highest category ranks for Missouri are in feasibility, No. 9, and safety, No. 11. The infrastructure is the most challenging aspect for unplugging from the grid; it’s ranked 36th there.

LawnStarter, a company that contracts lawn care online nationwide, considered 20 key factors of off-grid feasibility, infrastructure, climate, cost and safety. And the data set ranges from average per-acre cost of farmland to the legality of rainwater harvesting and the average monthly temperature.

While off-grid living doesn’t seem as talked about lately, some industry reports say it’s making a comeback. One study by consulting company Accenture projects 12% of the U.S. population will be off the grid by 2035.

One factor is the pandemic, of course, leading to designs of homes that are remote and self-sufficient. It’s even prompting the potential of some large business campuses going off the grid.

Now, a completely off-the-grid existence also would involve transportation, internet, food and finances. A lot has changed in the last year that we wouldn’t have expected. Who knows, then, how fast these off-grid ideas will evolve from here?

Springfield Business Journal Editor Eric Olson can be reached at eolson@sbj.net.