(The Center Square) – Wirepoints executive editor Mark Glennon isn’t holding back on what to make of Chicago’s stumbling economy, including 23 straight months of decreased business activity and an unemployment rate that falls well below the national average.

With a score below 50 representing a decline in business, Chicago Business Barometer researchers recently graded the city at 43.8 on the strength of metrics that include supply chain data, new orders, inventories, production, employment trends and supplier deliveries.