Tom Hudson
Senior Economics Editor and Special CorrespondentTom Hudson is WLRN's Senior Economics Editor and Special Correspondent.
Hudson's extensive reporting on South Florida's economy has taken him from the waters of Florida Bay to the depths of the PortMiami tunnel (and countless offices and conference rooms). He has interviewed bartenders and bankers, caregivers and CEOs to report on the people behind economic statistics.
He began his business reporting career in March 2000, just weeks after the dot-com bubble burst. He has reported from the trading floors of the CME, Chicago Board Options Exchange, NASDAQ and New York Stock Exchange. He previously served as Vice President of News at WLRN when he created and hosted The Sunshine Economy for 10 years. He was managing editor and co-anchor of Nightly Business Report on PBS.
Hudson is married with two sons and advises every bicycle rider to always wear their helmet.
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Brightline experienced record ridership in December but two credit rating agencies now warn the service may not be able to make its scheduled debt payments in one year. -
Hiring in construction, retail and tourism helped push down the regional jobless rate in December as the statewide unemployment rate crept up again. -
The first private passenger rail service in more than a century in the U.S. is finding it difficult getting more people to pay higher fares as it works to increase its revenues faster. Brightline faces some big debt payments in 2026. At least one analyst warns of default. -
South Florida's condo market cool-off continued in 2025 even as the number of sales increased as the year came to an end. Single family homes remained in strong demand. -
ACA enrollment fell in 2026 as extended tax credits approved during the COVID-19 pandemic expired. Florida experienced the largest fall-off in the county, with more than a quarter of a million fewer people signing up. -
The parent company of Brightline's Florida passenger rail service named Nicolas Petrovic as CEO. He previously led a major European rail network and comes on board as the Florida business is struggling to grow fast enough.
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The price of groceries, medical care and clothes are helping keep the annual regional inflation rate up. While the pace of price increases has slowed, overall inflation remained elevated in December. -
Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta Pres. Raphael Bostic knows hiring has cooled off, but he remains most concerned about keeping inflation heating up. The Fed's main tool to fight inflation is higher interest rates, which is the opposite of what Pres. Trump has been pressuring the Fed to do.
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Florida's unemployment rate hit a four-year high in November yet remains below what many economists consider full employment. The federal government shutdown meant skipping a month of data. -
Tourism in Florida is growing, though the increases are held back by Canadians continuing to stay away from the Sunshine State. About a half million fewer may have visited the state last year. -
The median price of a condo sold in Miami-Dade County hit its lowest level in three years in November. More units for sale across the region, falling prices and a drop in mortgage rates have helped revive the struggling condo market. -
Opinion: WLRN's Tom Hudson reflects on a year when he lost four people he was close to, including his mom, and the digital remnants that have helped him remember their experiences together.
