Emporia’s Economic Outlook Conference this month offered residents a chance to learn more about the current and potentially future state of business for Emporia, Lyon County and Kansas as a whole.
Emporia State Assistant Professor Bekah Selby, one of the featured presenters, had a general focus on the local economy. She tells KVOE News her main topics dealt with local business and industry — but she couldn’t help but listen to information about the real estate market and its impact in other economic sectors. She says a combination of high interest rates, high housing costs and lack of available homes doesn’t help.
In addition, Selby says wage increases are starting to catch up to inflationary pressures, but it’s a lengthy process.
Selby says the area has a “robust” manufacturing category with a lot of products that remain in high demand, including pet food and processed meat, while the workforce is versatile. She cautions there are some concerns about a developing recession, although it could take months or even up to two years for those concerns to be confirmed.
Other presenters included Wichita State professors Jeremy Hill, Jonathan Norris and Stan Longhofer. The Emporia conference is one of 14 organized by Wichita State’s Center for Economic Development and Business Research this year.
