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Economy

Economic Indicators For San Diego County At Highest Level In 8 Years

Economic Indicators For San Diego County At Highest Level In 8 Years
The index stood at 139.7 in May, the highest mark since December 2006. The monthly hike was the 12th in a row for the index, but the size of the increase — 0.5 percent — was the smallest since last October.

The University of San Diego Burnham-Moores Center for Real Estate's Index of Leading Economic Indicators for San Diego County, released Tuesday, is at its highest level in 8 1/2 years.

The index stood at 139.7 in May, the highest mark since December 2006, according to data supplied by Professor Alan Gin.

The monthly hike was the 12th in a row for the index, but the size of the increase — 0.5 percent — was the smallest since last October, Gin said.

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He said it was also the first time since August of last year that two components fell in the same month. Consumer confidence dropped by a small amount, while stocks in San Diego-based companies were lower, despite gains in the overall markets.

Those areas were offset by positive results in construction, jobs and the outlook for the national economy, according to the professor.

"Therefore, the outlook for the local economy remains unchanged from what has been indicated in recent reports — strong growth in the local economy for the rest of 2015 and at least through the early part of 2016," Gin said.

"One thing that could disrupt this positive outlook would be turmoil in the international economy, such as the possibility that Greece would default on its debt payments and would have to leave the European Union," Gin said. "Greece by itself is not a significant player in the world economy, but it could foreshadow problems in other European economies such as Portugal, Italy and Spain."

He said San Diego, not being a financial center and not having strong ties to the EU, would not be directly affected. However, the region could suffer indirect impacts if the Greece situation hurts the world and U.S. economies.