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Leading Indicators Shine Brightly On San Diego’s Economic Future
Tuesday, May 31, 2011
Audio
Aired 6/1/11
San Diego's economic outlook is mostly positive for the second half of the year. The San Diego Index of Leading Economic Indicators jumped almost one full percent in April.
SAN DIEGO — The index has avoided negative territory for 25 months. The past four months have each had a substantial gain and that's good news for the local economy.
University of San Diego economist Alan Gin compiled the six indicators. A surge in building permits led the numbers, as developers looked to construct mutli-family housing units. The job market also performed well.
"The latest report was not great in terms of the number of jobs generated," said Gin. "But at least the unemployment rate is now down below 10 percent. It had been above 10 percent almost two years.
Unemployment claims are just one measuring stick. The index also tracks help wanted advertising.
"Help wanted advertising has increased to its highest point since November of 2008," said Gin. "So that's an indication that businesses are at least thinking about hiring people. They're placing ads on line to try to fill jobs."
San Diego's economic future is far from certain. The outlook for the national economy fell in April for the first time in 10 months. If the national economy struggles, that could also slow the economic recovery in San Diego.
Comments
HarryStreet | May 31, 2011 at 5:18 p.m. ― 3 years, 1 month ago
What these reports do not mention is that the future jobs available will not be paying much. Many companies have learned that by tightening their belts, keeping their payroll down, and keeping operating costs down means less spending on employees, benefits and the like.
Companies are putting more on the plate(s) of the people fortunate enough to have a job, but not paying them for this extra work. It is highly unlikely as we come out of the recession that they will make any effort whatsoever to pay men and women a salary that will earn them a decent living.
This being the case, the government needs to draw up a measure giving companies incentive(s) for improving the pay and work environment for workers. The disparity between CEO, management, and employees is too great to be ignored, let alone justified.
As Americans find it harder and harder to earn a living the seeds of revolution will be sowed, so this is something that should not be ignored.
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