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San Diego Economy Expected To Continue Improving

Gilko
San Diego Economy Expected To Continue Improving
San Diego's economy is expected to continue its slow ascent in the coming year.

San Diego's economy widely is expected to keep improving in 2014, but the consensus at San Diego County's 30th annual economic roundtable was that economic growth is not expected to be robust.

San Diego is seen as having a "Goldilocks" economy: Not too slow and not too fast. The economists and business leaders mostly agreed that the projections are decidedly positive.

The housing and job markets are both expected to continue improving, but there are caveats.

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Alan Gin is an economist at the University of San Diego. He compiles the region's index of leading economic indicators. Gin said unemployment is falling, but so is the percentage of people actively taking part in the work force.

"Part of that is due to demographics. People are retiring. We've got the baby boomer generation coming through so those people are retiring so they're no longer in the workforce," Gin said. "But it is troubling because some people have just given up looking for work. So they're not participating in the labor force."

Home values are expected to continue climbing through the year, according to Gin. That's great for homeowners, he said, but it will make it tough on people trying to enter the market.