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San Diego
Tuesday, Mar 19, 2024
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Swing in Economic Index May Be Cause for Optimism

The San Diego economy may be turning the corner, based on the Feb. 11 report from the Burnham-Moores Center for Real Estate at the University of San Diego.

For the month of December, the USD Index of Leading Economic Indicators for San Diego County rose 0.7 percent, led by a 2.25 percent increase in the outlook for the national economy.

For the first time since April 2004, each of the index’s six components showed an increase, although the measure for local consumer confidence was practically even, at 0.02 percent above the prior month’s measure.

After a revision in November’s index, the USD index has now risen for nine consecutive months.

Alan Gin, the USD economics professor who compiles the data for the index, said the latest index shows some signs of a recovery, particularly in the local housing industry which is benefiting from a rise in values, increased sales and federal incentives.

The jobless picture also appears to be improving, with December’s new claims for unemployment insurance declining, which is counted by the index as a positive. Also, the lineage of help-wanted advertising in the daily newspaper registered a second consecutive gain after falling for 38 months in a row.

However, unemployment remains a big problem, with the county’s jobless rate in December staying greater than 10 percent for the seventh consecutive month, Gin said.

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