(Source: The Daily Progress)
By Bryan McKenzie, The Daily Progress, Charlottesville, Va.
April 24--It's springtime and making a living is easier, even if the economy doesn't jump like it used to and unemployment remains high.
Local economic indicators either improved or remained stable in the first quarter of 2011. Combine that with the expansion of two local high-tech, medical firms and the recruitment of a Northern Virginia company to Albemarle County and officials are smiling.
"Employment seems to be steady -- the slight increase in the unemployment rate after the holiday returned to the same level it was in the fall and winter -- and retail sales were way up in February, and that's a good sign," said Timothy Hulbert, president and chief executive of the Charlottesville Regional Chamber of Commerce. "We're not at the point of irrational exuberance, and I don't think we should ever get there, but things are looking up."
Michael Harvey, president of the Thomas Jefferson Partnership for Economic Development, worked with local government and state officials to attract CustomInk, a custom apparel printing company, to the region.
He also worked with Charlottesville-based Indoor Biotechnologies to purchase the former Coca-Cola building on Preston Avenue for future expansion and with MicroAire to purchase the former U.S. Postal Service Airport Road mail processing facility.
"Every indicator I've seen, both nationally and locally, has been positive in the past few months, even if they're not vigorously positive," Harvey said. "But I agree that irrational exuberance is not called for."
Harvey noted that most aspects of the local economy have shown slight increases, from employment to retail sales. He said one concern is the lethargy still shown in the real estate market.
A recent report from the Charlottesville Area Association of Realtors showed the number of home sales in the first quarter were slightly above the same time period last year while days on market were slightly less. The median price of home sales in the first quarter was $19,000 less than the same period in 2010.
"The housing market dropped so fast that you have to expect it to climb back slowly," Harvey said.
Central Virginia's unemployment rate in February dropped to 5.3 percent from January's six-month high of 5.9 percent. That's the same rate the region averaged from September through December. State officials said the January increase was due to post-holiday layoffs and furloughs.
Local officials say they are optimistic that the trends could be long-term.