Economy experts from across the state, nation, and the globe are meeting in Northwest Arkansas Friday to look at the year ahead. This is all happening at the Rogers Convention Center.It starts with a networking event at 10:45 a.m. Then, at 11:30, a lineup of featured speakers will share their thoughts on the region’s economy. The talks will be moderated by Curtis Barnett, president and chief executive officer for Arkansas Blue Cross and Blue Shield. Speakers include economists Ellen Zentner and Gregory Daco and University of Arkansas professor Mervin Jebaraj. Jebaraj is the regional forecaster for the event. He said businesses both large and small could benefit from the information shared at the luncheon. He’s also expecting a more positive outlook than the one shared last year. He says business is booming locally for the leisure and hospitality industry. “It took a while to recover from the pandemic,” Jebaraj said. “But wages are higher in that sector right now, and they’ve been able to hire a lot more workers into that sector.”Jebaraj also says the professional business services sector is also seeing growth. That includes professions like lawyers, researchers, and design professionals. This is the 13th time Arkansas economic forecasters have met to discuss the year ahead.We will update this article once we know this year’s forecast.
Economy experts from across the state, nation, and the globe are meeting in Northwest Arkansas Friday to look at the year ahead. This is all happening at the Rogers Convention Center.
It starts with a networking event at 10:45 a.m. Then, at 11:30, a lineup of featured speakers will share their thoughts on the region’s economy. The talks will be moderated by Curtis Barnett, president and chief executive officer for Arkansas Blue Cross and Blue Shield. Speakers include economists Ellen Zentner and Gregory Daco and University of Arkansas professor Mervin Jebaraj.
Jebaraj is the regional forecaster for the event. He said businesses both large and small could benefit from the information shared at the luncheon. He’s also expecting a more positive outlook than the one shared last year. He says business is booming locally for the leisure and hospitality industry.
“It took a while to recover from the pandemic,” Jebaraj said. “But wages are higher in that sector right now, and they’ve been able to hire a lot more workers into that sector.”
Jebaraj also says the professional business services sector is also seeing growth. That includes professions like lawyers, researchers, and design professionals.
This is the 13th time Arkansas economic forecasters have met to discuss the year ahead.
We will update this article once we know this year’s forecast.
