A barometer of San Diego County's economy doesn't show signs that things will be improving anytime soon. KPBS Reporter Ed Joyce has more on what's depressing economic growth here.
The University of San Diego's Index of Leading Economic Indicators for San Diego County continues to drop. Professor Alan Gin says the index fell 1.1 percent in February after falling 1.2 percent in January.
He says it's the 22nd time in 23 months the index has declined. And the job numbers for last month in just one sector reflect that downward trend.
Gin: If you take construction, real estate finance and the real estate industry itself, we've lost more than 13,000 jobs in February compared to a year ago.
Gin says there's no turnaround in sight as far as the local economy's concerned. He says job growth in the county is at a virtual standstill. Gin says a weak housing market and high gas prices have also shaken consumer confidence to near record lows.
Gin: So if people are worried about their jobs and their incomes they're not going to go out there and spend money particularly on big ticket items like automobiles or even homes. And so that could make the situation even worse.
Gin says that's because consumer spending accounts for about two-thirds of the economy. The only positive in the index? He says initial claims for unemployment were down last month.
Ed Joyce, KPBS News.
