Chmura Economics & Analytics

03/31/2026

Global supply chain risk is not just a trade story. It can quickly become a regional economic story here in the United States.

In our latest blog, Colin Emberland examines how disruptions tied to Taiwan could ripple through U.S. industries that rely on advanced integrated circuits, especially in states with strong concentrations of semiconductor, R&D, AI, and data center activity.

The blog shows how exposed parts of the U.S. economy are to Taiwan’s role in the tech supply chain, including the fact that 94% of U.S. GPU imports came from Taiwan as of January 2026. It also highlights which stateshave the greatest risk of disruption, including New Mexico, California, and Oregon.

Read the blog and explore the map, created in JobsEQ Canvas, to see where the risks could be felt most directly: https://hubs.la/Q0492NXl0

Want to learn more?
Talk to our consultant: https://hubs.la/Q0492Hff0
Or book a JobsEQ demo: https://hubs.la/Q0492GT-0

Explore how Taiwan semiconductor supply chain disruptions could impact U.S. states, especially regions tied to AI, R&D, and data center growth.

03/30/2026

A global helium shortage may sound like a niche issue, but the local impact could be significant.

In a new analysis by Colin Emberland, Chmura explores how growing pressure on the global helium supply could affect U.S. communities with high concentrations of helium-dependent industries.

Helium is a critical input for sectors such as semiconductor manufacturing, aerospace, diagnostic imaging, welding, machining, and research and development. When supply tightens, the ripple effects can reach far beyond the immediate market.
Using JobsEQ, we identified the metro areas with the highest concentration of helium-related industries and examined where disruptions could have the greatest local impact.

Read the blog to see which communities may be most exposed and why this matters for local economies, workforce planning, and business decision-making: https://bit.ly/4sa2QCF

A global helium shortage could disrupt U.S. industries and local economies. See which metro areas may be most exposed using Chmura’s JobsEQ analysis.

03/26/2026

What happens when the jobs meant to launch a career start to change?

In our latest blog, Dr. Francesco Renna explores how generative AI may be reshaping entry-level opportunities for recent college graduates. The piece looks at a troubling shift in the labor market, including a 40% drop in the share of advertised entry-level positions since summer 2023, and what that could mean for employers, educators, and young workers starting out.

The takeaway is not that entry-level work is disappearing. It is that these roles are changing, with growing pressure on graduates to arrive with stronger, more AI-ready skills from day one.

Read Chmura's latest blog: https://bit.ly/4bQcg08

Generative AI is reshaping entry-level jobs for college graduates, reducing routine roles and increasing demand for AI-ready skills and adaptability.

03/26/2026

We’re at the VEDA Spring Conference in Williamsburg, VA (March 25–27) and excited to be part of the conversations happening this week.

If you’re attending, make sure to stop by and connect with Riley Ford, our economic consultant, who’s representing Chmura on site. She’ll be there throughout the conference and would love to say hello.

We’re always glad to talk about what we’re seeing across regions, from workforce trends to employer demand and how communities are planning for growth.

03/18/2026

We’re excited to share that Jay Gentry, our Director of Engagement, is attending NAWB Forum 2026: Ignite. Innovate. Impact.

If you’ll be there too, connect with Jay and say hello. He’ll be glad to talk about how Chmura helps workforce, education, and economic development leaders make stronger decisions with timely, trusted, targeted data and economic insights.

Looking forward to the conversations, ideas, and partnerships this event will spark.

03/08/2026

What is the real economic cost of losing one hour of sleep?

Our research on the impact of Daylight Saving Time was recently featured by Morningstar.

Analysis by Xiaobing Shuai, Vice President of Research at Chmura, estimates that the spring transition to Daylight Saving Time costs the U.S. economy about $672 million annually.

The estimate reflects measurable changes that occur immediately after the time shift, including increases in heart attacks, strokes, workplace injuries, and traffic accidents.

While each of these effects is temporary, together they translate into substantial medical costs, lost productivity, and broader economic impacts.

To support further analysis, we’ve also made the underlying dataset available, with estimates of the economic cost of Daylight Saving Time across metropolitan statistical areas.

Read more about the research:
https://bit.ly/3ORNnt7

Download the data:
https://bit.ly/4lhmtXH

Morningstar coverage:
https://bit.ly/4bu3KEW

Over the last decade, the debate around whether to get rid of DST has intensified. Chmura evaluates the potential negative impact of DST for the US.

02/10/2026

We are pleased to share that our economist Colin Emberland is featured on the latest Inside IALR podcast episode, “Living wages by the numbers: What 15,000 job postings reveal,” published February 9, 2026, by the Institute for Advanced Learning and Research (IALR). The conversation highlights an analytical approach to assessing living wages that can be applied to labor markets in communities and regions across the country.

In the episode, Colin joins host Caleb Ayers and Jessie Vernon (IALR) to discuss:
• What 15,000 job postings reveal about living wage job availability
• What has changed since our 2016–2017 report
• Why job quality matters, and what the findings mean for employers, educators, and residents

Listen here: https://bit.ly/3ZsSF0c

Explore Chmura Consulting services: https://bit.ly/4r3pdKh

01/22/2026

Cardinal News published a detailed, third-party review of research by Chmura Economics & Analytics for GOVA 3 on living wages and jobs availability in Southside Virginia. The coverage reflects how rigorous labor market analysis can support real decisions, not just reporting.

It also points to an important next step for workforce strategy: applying consistent measurement across regions. When demand indicators are comparable by occupation and geography, leaders can prioritize investments with greater confidence and align actions across employers, education providers, and workforce partners.

This work helps answer practical questions, including:
- Which roles are showing the strongest and most persistent hiring pressure
- Where demand is concentrated and how it varies across localities
- How a shared fact base can inform program design, funding, and planning

Chmura is proud to support GOVA 3 and to recognize Colin Emberlands' leadership on the analysis.

Read the full report here: https://bit.ly/3M01jju

01/21/2026

Planning for 2026 is already happening, and the signals are mixed.

Join us for a Chmura webinar, An economic outlook for 2026: risks, opportunities, and global forces, with Dr. Chris Chmura and James McCafferty (Director, Western Washington University Center for Economic and Business Research).

Thursday, February 5 at 2:00 PM ET

We will cover:
• The U.S. economic trends leaders should be watching as budgets and strategies take shape
• The biggest risks and emerging opportunities heading into 2026
• Global trade forces and what they could mean for Washington State
• Practical takeaways you can use for scenario planning and decision-making

Register here: https://bit.ly/4pMu6Wv

01/06/2026

We’re excited to welcome Jay Gentry to Chmura Economics & Analytics as our new Director of Engagement.

Jay brings a deep background in strategic partnerships, workforce development, and economic development, with a career dedicated to connecting people, data, and opportunity. He has led growth initiatives across national organizations, higher education, and technology-driven environments, always focused on creating value through collaboration.

At Chmura, Jay will lead engagement efforts that help bridge data-driven insights with community and organizational impact.

Welcome to Chmura, Jay. We’re excited to work together!

12/30/2025

Our Leading Metro Locations 2025 analysis is now live in partnership with Area Development, powered by Chmura Economics & Analytics.

This year’s results highlight a national realignment that is hard to miss: smaller and mid-sized metros are increasingly outpacing many larger peers. The advantage is not about having the biggest skyline. It is about workforce readiness, affordability, and quality of place, plus the ability to execute quickly.

What stands out in the findings:
• Smaller and mid-sized markets show wider performance spreads, meaning differentiation is real and measurable
• Prime workforce strength can outperform population size when regions build tight talent pipelines and upskilling systems
• Housing affordability is showing up as economic infrastructure, directly tied to talent retention and resilience
• Infrastructure reliability (power, water, broadband) is becoming a sharper filter in long-horizon site selection models
• Regional coordination is emerging as a quiet edge: unified permitting, aligned incentives, and shared training systems signal speed and stability

If you work in site selection, facility planning, workforce development, or economic development strategy, this release is a useful benchmark for separating “popular” from “prepared.”

Read the full article: https://hubs.la/Q03ZdwKb0