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B-CS economy down in March, says Ingham
By Trevor | May 20, 2008
B-CS economy down in March, says Ingham
May 18, 2008
The local economy slipped in March, falling to an index rating of 123.7 from February’s rating of 124, according to Amarillo economist Karr Ingham. Inflation-adjusted retail sales, as indicated by sales tax rebates to the area, were up 7.6 percent for the first quarter, compared with the same period last year. The area saw year-over-year employment growth of just less than 1 percent for March and first-quarter growth of 1.6 percent. Though Ingham said the sales tax figures were favorable, he described the single-home construction sector as sharply negative compared to the past two years. New single-family housing permits saw a decline of 5.8 percent for the first quarter when compared with the same period a year earlier, with builders filing 195 permits. Ingham said construction as a whole in Bryan-College Station continues to boost the economy by providing jobs and all the other benefits of vibrant building activity. In other indicators, auto sales dipped 9 percent to $24.3 million in March, compared with the same period last year, and March total construction value dropped 66.2 percent, to $16.8 million, when compared with year-ago levels. Year-to-date hotel-motel tax receipts climbed 13.1 percent from the same period last year, to $795,284. And the unemployment rate decreased from 3.5 percent in March of 2007 to 3.3 percent this year. “The index increased steadily in January and February prior to the March decline, and year-over-year growth rates have bounced around on either side of 3 percent for the last four months or so,” Ingham said. The last time the index declined was in December 2006, when it dropped from 119.6 to 119.5. Ingham started the index in 2000 with a baseline of 100 to evaluate the region’s economy based on a number of indicators, including auto spending, hotel-motel tax revenue, unemployment and retail sales.
[Bryan-College Station Eagle]
Topics: College Station Real Estate |
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