BIG BLOG

Using recent data and ongoing surveys by the Minneapolis Fed, Ron will discuss the pandemic’s evolving impact on firms, workers, and the broader Minnesota economy. Using an interactive survey, Ron will also gauge sentiment among event attendees regarding recent business activity, hiring demand, labor and wage trends, and outlook.

Ron Wirtz is a Regional Outreach Director for the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis. Ron’s primary responsibilities involve tracking current business conditions across the six-state Ninth Federal Reserve District, which includes northwest Wisconsin, Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, Minnesota, the Dakotas and Montana.

Among many areas of the economy, Ron pays special attention to employment and wages – which are central to the Federal Reserve’s dual mandate of promoting stable prices and maximum employment – along with construction, real estate, consumer spending and tourism. Ron is a central contributor to the Beige Book, which is a report of current business conditions published by the Federal Reserve System every six weeks. Ron’s work includes extensive outreach to business and community leaders, and he gives frequent speeches on economic conditions across the Ninth District.

Previous to this position, Ron was editor of the fedgazette, a regional business and economics journal published by the Minneapolis Fed. Here, he conducted in-depth research on such topics as labor markets and job growth, health care consolidation, the Bakken oil boom, income mobility, disability, public pensions, and many others.