The School of Business and Economics at University of Lynchburg, in conjunction with the Lynchburg Regional Chamber of Commerce, hosted the spring Economic Outlook Conference on February 1.
Roy Webb, senior economist and research advisor with the Richmond Federal Reserve Bank, spoke to an audience of approximately 100 people about national economic conditions and forecasts. His presentation featured statistics on all segments of the economy and included data on the gross domestic product, residential investment, house prices, sales of automobiles and light trucks, personal income and expenditures, core capital goods, and civilian unemployment rates. Webb’s presentation can be found at http://www.slideshare.net/lynchburg/roy-webb-national-economic-conditions .
Dr. Joe Turek, dean of the School of Business and Economics, shared his perspective on the regional economy, noting a drop in the unemployment rate for the Lynchburg SMSA from 7.2 percent in November 2010 to 6.1 percent in November 2011. Dr. Turek also presented the following “scorecard:”
| Employment Growth | Relatively high |
| Cost of Living | Low |
| Real Average Weekly Wage | Relatively low |
| Median Home Sales Price | -2.3% (not just Lynchburg) |
| Home Sales | +9.8% |
| Building Permits | Down |
| New Firm Start-ups | Mixed; most recently down |
| Taxable Retail Sales | -5.7% |
| Foreclosures | +11.8% |
Turek’s presentation is available at http://www.slideshare.net/lynchburg/joe-turek-regional-economic-outlook-2012
The Economic Outlook Conference has been a joint project of the College and the Chamber since its inception in 1990.
