SOUTHLAND ECONOMY SOLID HOUSING COOL-DOWN SHOULDN'T HURT.Byline: Rodney Tanaka Staff Writer ARCADIA - Southern California's economy is expected to remain steady despite a housing market cool-down, industry experts said Thursday. Economists talked to about 150 business and community leaders at the Southern California Southern California, also colloquially known as SoCal, is the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. Centered on the cities of Los Angeles and San Diego, Southern California is home to nearly 24 million people and is the nation's second most populated region, Association of Government's ninth annual Regional Economic Forecast for Southern California at Santa Anita Park Santa Anita Park is a thoroughbred racetrack in Arcadia, California, USA. It is known for offering some of the prominent racing events in the United States during the autumn and in winter. Racing at Santa Anita began in 1934. . International trade activity remains robust, consumer spending Consumer demand or consumption is also known as personal consumption expenditure. It is the largest part of aggregate demand or effective demand at the macroeconomic level. should remain firm and labor market labor market A place where labor is exchanged for wages; an LM is defined by geography, education and technical expertise, occupation, licensure or certification requirements, and job experience growth is expected to remain stable, said Mark Schniepp, director of the California Economic Forecast Project. Home sales have slowed dramatically and home prices have leveled off, he said, but a recession is not looming. ``We don't forecast a bubble-bursting scenario in 2006,'' Schniepp said. ``There's too much momentum.'' The manufacturing sector stopped losing jobs and professional and business services jobs are strengthening, said Lisa Grobar, a professor of economics at California State University Enrollment  , Long Beach. Los Angeles Los Angeles (lôs ăn`jələs, lŏs, ăn`jəlēz'), city (1990 pop. 3,485,398), seat of Los Angeles co., S Calif.; inc. 1850. County gained virtually no jobs from 2001 to 2004 but is now on track to post solid employment gains, she said. The housing market will likely have a soft landing rather than crash, with appreciation of home values down to single digits by the end of the year, she said. The conference also examined the challenges facing the region, such as traffic congestion The condition of a network when there is not enough bandwidth to support the current traffic load. congestion - When the offered load of a data communication path exceeds the capacity. and quality education. A person driving during peak hours in Los Angeles County suffered an average of 93 hours of delay, the highest among metropolitan areas in the nation, said Los Angeles Councilwoman Wendy Greuel. In 2003, for example, the total cost to the region's economy due to traffic congestion was nearly $12 billion, she said. A proposed state infrastructure bond will address some of these traffic problems, she said, and local leaders will ask for more funds for mass transit and synchronization of traffic lights. ``We must look at transit-oriented development to help solve problems with traffic,'' Greuel said. Communities must improve infrastructure such as affordable housing and parks and recreation to attract qualified workers, said Anil Puri, dean of the College of Business and Economics at California State University, Fullerton California State University, Fullerton, commonly known as CSUF, CSU Fullerton, or Cal State Fullerton, is a part of the California State University system. The University is located in the city of Fullerton, California, in northern Orange County. . Southern California is competing not only with other states for business, but overseas markets. Outsourcing of labor is part of the global economy, Puri said. ``We need to accept it as a permanent fixture of today's economy,'' he said. Southern California has technology, innovation and knowledge to fill the loss of lower-paying jobs, Puri said. ``We have strengths. I'm optimistic that we are ready for the global race,'' he said. ``It will take some planning and realistic decision-making for that to happen.'' Rodney Tanaka, (626) 962-8811, Ext. 2230 rodney.tanaka(at)sgvn.com |
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