#27 How's Business?

How’s Business is an app being developed by Open City that shows how the local economy. It looks at four indicators: new business licenses, construction permits, unemployment and foreclosures.

The licenses and permits are from city’s data portal. Open City aggregated them by month, did a seasonal adjustment, visualized the data with a line chart. The unemployment and foreclosure numbers are released quarterly.

The site’s about page explains the metrics, why they chose them, and the underlying economic concepts in plain terms.