Economics
Florence to Batter U.S. Data But Harm to Economy Likely Small
- Jobless claims may be first place to look for storm effects
- Harvey, Irma played havoc with economic data well into 2018
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The economic impact of Hurricane Florence is unlikely to be large but could muddle U.S. data for months, judging from past experience.
Last year, Hurricanes Harvey and Irma constrained activity in the third quarter of 2017 and sparked rebuilding later in the year and well into 2018, making it hard to get an accurate and timely assessment of the impact on quarterly gross domestic product growth.