While many national news agencies are focusing on a ‘double-dip’ recession, along with a double-dip housing slump, San Diego County continues to show consistent improvement in many areas of economic development. While San Diego could still pull away from the pack and recover sooner than the rest of the country, it could also follow the rest of the nation on a precarious ride teetering between a growth economy and a slumping economy. There are some signs that San Diego could indeed lead the country out of the recession. It was recently reported that the San Diego area is now the number one military city in terms of payroll – over $13 billion per year, $1.5 billion more than last year and overtaking Norfolk VA in the number one spot. The biotech industry, one of the fuels in San Diego’s now diverse economic landscape, had an increase in employment last year, and over 300 new start-up companies came to life in 2009 – a 13% increase over 2008. The Index of Leading Economic Indicators for San Diego, published by USD, recently reported its 16th straight month of gains, with consumer confidence and help wanted advertising driving the gain. That doesn’t really sound like the national media’s take on the nation as a whole. San Diego also fared well in a report published last week showing it had the 3rd lowest drop in residential real estate sales of all of the large metropolitan areas for July (versus July last year). And real estate prices continued to rise, year over year, in San Diego County. Historically San Diego County has emerged housing slumps ahead of the rest of the country. Perhaps this time we’ll be an overall economic leader as well.
Can San Diego County Stay Ahead of the Pack?
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