Tom Fudge: The monthly snapshot of San Diego's economy, called the USD Index of Leading Economic Indicators, came out today. It reported what has become very familiar news, and that's not good. The numbers for April show a 1.4 percent drop in the overall index. The index has dropped 24 of the past 25 months, a reflection of the long financial downturn in the San Diego area. Building permits in San Diego county dropped 1.3 percent last month. Consumer confidence was down an alarming 5.6 percent, and help wanted advertising was also down. The only good news was a slight uptick in local stock prices.
The San Diego index compares poorly, even to the nation as a whole. The nation's gross domestic product showed a slight increase in the first quarter of 2008.
Guest
- Alan Gin , professor of economics at University of San Diego. He the publisher of the Index of Leading Economic Indicators for San Diego.
