Wednesday, February 24, 2010
RESI Economic Forecast: Signs of Recovery
Dr. Daraius Irani of Towson University’s Division of Economic and Community Outreach gave his annual economic forecast for the region at the 2010 RESI Economic Outlook Conference last week.
Irani said that while there have been signs of recovery within the economy, progress is being made much slower than one would hope.
Irani said Maryland currently has historically high levels of unemployment, a problem that is made worse by high levels of underemployment; that is, workers who are employed, but not at their desired capacity in terms of compensation, hours, experience, skill level, etc. He said the current underemployment rate in Maryland stands at 12 percent, and 17.3 percent nationally.
Job losses have been particularly heavy in the construction, manufacturing, finance, retail and transportation industries, but growth has been seen in the health and education sectors as well as the federal government—three industries that have a strong presence in Maryland. Irani said indications that federal jobs and health sector jobs will grow, as well as the expected job growth caused by BRAC, give a good outlook for economic recovery in Maryland.
Additionally, indicators in the real estate market and in consumer spending show that there are signs of life, but a full recovery may be some time off.
Here is a brief video recap of Irani’s presentation. You can download a PDF of his presentation here.
