Joe Brusuelas
Chief Economist
Areas of focus: Middle Market Economics, The Real Economy, Middle Market Business Index, Market Commentaries
ABOUT JOE
Joe Brusuelas, “chief economist to the middle market,” is the preeminent voice championing issues and policies facing midsize companies in the United States and around the world. An award-winning economist, Brusuelas has more than 20 years’ experience analyzing U.S. monetary policy, labor markets, fiscal policy, international finance, economic indicators and the condition of the U.S. consumer.
A member of the Wall Street Journal’s forecasting panel, Brusuelas regularly briefs members of Congress and other senior officials regarding the impacts of federal policy on the middle market and the factors by which middle market executives make business decisions. He also frequently offers his insights on the U.S., Canadian and global economies in the financial media, including CNBC, Cheddar, NPR’s Marketplace, Yahoo! Finance, Financial Times, The New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, Axios and Politico. (Recent broadcast coverage and other media commentary can be found here.) In 2020, he was named one of the 100 most influential economists by Richtopia.
At the heart of Brusuelas’ work at RSM is the Middle Market Business Index (MMBI), a first-of-its-kind economic index designed to accurately reflect business conditions in “the real economy.” The middle market in the United States consists of roughly 200,000 firms with annual revenues between $10 million and $2 billion, which account for 40% of GDP and one-third of the U.S. labor force.
Before joining RSM in 2014, Brusuelas spent four years as a senior economist at Bloomberg L.P. and the Bloomberg Briefs newsletter group, where he co-founded the award-winning Bloomberg Economic Brief. Earlier in his career, he was a director at Moody's Analytics covering the U.S. and global economies for the Dismal Scientist website. He also served as chief economist at Merk Investments L.L.C. and chief U.S. economist at IDEAglobal.
Brusuelas completed all economy and public policy dissertation requirements for his Ph.D. at the University of Southern California.
Featured insights
The Real Economy
A monthly publication to help the middle market anticipate and address the unique issues and challenges facing their businesses.
RSM US Middle Market Business Index
Snarled supply chains and the spread of the delta variant combined to reduce the MMBI to 129.7 in the final quarter of the year.
recent perspectives
U.S. households are drawing down savings as the economy booms
After building up prodigious savings during the pandemic, American households are starting to spend that cash.
The $1.2 trillion infrastructure legislation and the middle market
This legislation represents the most significant modernization of the nation’s infrastructure since the middle of the 20th century.
The Real Economy: January 2022
The $1.2 trillion Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act will have the potential to lift economic growth above the current rate of 1.8%.
The Real Economy: December 2021
Nearly two years into the pandemic, there are signs that the worst of a once-in-a-century shock to the global economy is beginning to fade.
Looking ahead to 2022
Nearly two years into the pandemic, there are signs that the worst of a once-in-a-century shock to the global economy is beginning to fade.