Business & Tech

County Economy Rises Slightly in June, USD Index Finds

Employment declines offset by increases in building permits, help-wanted ads.

The University of San Diego Burnham-Moores Center for Real Estate’s Index of Leading Economic Indicators for June in San Diego County rose by 0.1 percent from the previous month, the school announced Wednesday.

That compares to climbs of 0.7 percent in May and 0.6 percent in April.

The index stood at 121.4 in June after eight straight months of increases. It is at its highest level since March 2008.

Interested in local real estate?Subscribe to Patch's new newsletter to be the first to know about open houses, new listings and more.

A sharp increase in the number of residential building permits issued in June, along with moderate climbs in consumer confidence and help-wanted advertising, barely offset , local stock prices and the outlook for the national economy, according to USD Professor Alan Gin.

He said that despite a dip in the job market last month, the region has added 24,000 jobs over the last year.

Interested in local real estate?Subscribe to Patch's new newsletter to be the first to know about open houses, new listings and more.

“Barring an international event—Europe, China, the Middle East—that tips the national economy into a double dip-recession, that job growth is expected to last the rest of the year and into at least the first half of 2013,” Gin said.

The number of building permits issued in the first half of 2012 was up 4 percent over the first six months of last year, he said.

The aggregate figure obscures a wide variation in permits handed out for single-family homes, compared to apartments and condominiums. The number of permits issued for houses from January to June of this year was 23 percent lower than last year, while the figure for multi-family housing jumped 26 percent, according to Gin.

He said the amount of help-wanted advertising climbed for the 18th month in a row and is now at its highest level since September 2008.

-City News Service


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here