
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: THURSDAY, August 5, 1993                   TAG: 9308050081
SECTION: BUSINESS                    PAGE: B8   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: Daniel Howes
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Short

THEY'RE NERVOUS IN OUR REGION, TOO

Early summer economic growth in the Federal Reserve's Fifth District - the Virginias, the Carolinas and Maryland - tracked the "moderate and uneven" performance across the rest of the nation, according to a report released Wednesday.

Manufacturers, citing weak product demand, saw scant improvement from late spring and predicted their employment levels might dip later this year. None of the respondents to the Richmond Fed's survey reported decreases in exports or raw materials prices.

"It seems like the Fifth District is very much like the country as a whole," Hollins College economist Mary Houska said, describing cautious, nervous consumers and businesses.

Retailers told the Fed that shopper traffic and employment levels had declined in late June and early July, despite rising sales and prices. They predicted increased traffic in the next six months but saw little prospect for increased employment.

Moderate growth was reported in bank lending, state revenues and residential real estate, though commercial real estate remained sluggish. The dry, hot weather boosted tourism and demand for electricity even as it damaged agriculture.

by CNB