By Karissa Minn
kminn@salisburypost.com
SALISBURY – According to economic indicators compiled by the Rowan County Chamber of Commerce, Rowan County is better off than it was one year ago.
That improvement is likely to stay slow but steady, said Robert Van Geons, director of RowanWorks Economic Development.
Van Geons said the county has made up about half of the loss in employment it experienced few years ago. The number of people with jobs in Rowan County decreased dramatically from about 66,000 at the end of 2007 to about 61,000 at the end of 2009 and 2010.
“You can look at that as that we’ve regained some of the ground we’ve lost, but we have much, much further to go,” Van Geons said.
According to the state Employment Security Commission, 63,300 Rowan County residents were employed as of June 2012, compared to 60,800 in June 2011. But the county’s labor force also grew from 68,400 to 70,300.
Still, the county’s unemployment rate dropped a little from 11.1 percent to 10 percent, showing that more people who look for work are finding it.
“What we’ve seen is over the last year and a half or so is our employment levels are back to the end of 2008 numbers,” Van Geons said. “They’re not what they were at the best time in 2008, but we’ve made back the loss that happened in 2009 and 2010. In 2011, we started to see a return.”
The largest economic rebound appears in taxable sales, which leaped from $57.2 million in June 2011 to $82.7 million in June 2012.
“I’m thrilled to death if our retail sales are up, because that means our sales taxes will be up,” said Rowan County Manager Gary Page. “I know it’s been somewhat stable, but I don’t know why that would’ve jumped.”
When people spend more, Page said, that means they feel better about the economy and their own finances. The county will take in more tax revenue, helping it to stabalize its own budget.
“That is a major reflection on the amount of activity in the local economy,” Van Geons said. “We saw consumer spending drop from the highest of highs to lows I think we had not seen in decades. To see that rebound from its low is positive.”
He agreed that this shows that consumers have more confidence in the economy now than they did one year ago.
“But from what I have seen, while people are spending a little bit more, nobody is jumping for joy,” Van Geons said. “While there has been creation of new jobs, it’s been nowhere near enough to make up the ground we’ve lost, or to keep up with the amount of people in the work force.”
Improvement can also be seen in the total value of building permits issued, which has gone up from $8.1 million to $12.7 million, according to the Rowan County Inspections Office.
“That’s going to be due to more of the commercial end of things rather than residential home starts,” said County Planning Director Ed Muire.
Still, home sales, home sale prices and the total number of building permits have all gone up slightly, too. Page said it’s a good time to buy a house because interest rates have been so low.
“It’s a buyer’s market when it comes to surplus properties,” he said.
Van Geons said economists project that this slow-to-moderate growth will continue. If it stays at a steady rate, Rowan’s economy should finally get back to its pre-recession by 2015.
That’s a frustrating pace, he said, but any ongoing movement that goes up instead of down is good news.
“All of these are positive signs compared to where they were only a year ago,” Van Geons said. “While they’re not where they once were, they are much better than they have been recently, and that’s all positive. The economy is growing again.”
Contact reporter Karissa Minn at 704-797-4222.
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