ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1997, Roanoke Times
DATE: Friday, February 21, 1997 TAG: 9702210112
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: B-6 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: JEFF STURGEON
The Roanoke metropolitan area will lag state averages with moderate growth in jobs, retail sales and income this year and next, according to a forecast released Thursday by the business school at the College of William and Mary.
The number of jobs in the region will grow 1.3 percent this year and 1 percent next year, said Roy L. Pearson, a business professor at the college who directs its Bureau of Business Research in Williamsburg.
That compares to his prediction for the state, which calls for job growth of 1.7 percent this year and 1.6 percent in 1998.
Pearson said he lacks complete confidence in his Roanoke forecast because he still is testing newly developed computer models for this region.
He said firmer predictions will be out in May, when he intends to publish the next issue of his forecast publication, Virginia Outlook. The newsletter was suspended in 1994 due to a lack of funding and resumed this month.
It is to appear every January, May and October, with interim reports appearing in March, April, August and December.
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