USA states divided(winners v losers/N v South)?

Notice that except for Mississippi and Georgia, every contracting state is up North. The Southern GOP states are kicking ass and ....

llinois in recession or close to it, new analysis finds

By Emily Peck, Axios News

Twenty-two states are either in a recession or on the precipice of a downturn, according to an intriguing analysis from Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody's Analytics.

Why it matters: Illinois, along with the other 21, make up about a third of overall GDP, Axios' Emily Peck reports.

The analysis is based on Zandi's calculation of where things stood in the economy at the end of August — perhaps more useful now, as more data measures go dark with the federal government shut down.

How it works: He created an index looking at state-level jobs data, as well as other inputs, including modeled industrial production, personal income and housing starts.

Zoom in: The states most impacted are the ones more reliant on agriculture and manufacturing, like Illinois. Those sectors are more likely to be impacted by tariff increases, Zandi says.

The bottom line: "My takeaway is not that the economy is in recession, but it's pretty darn close," he says.