THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, October 12, 1994 TAG: 9410120434
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: D1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: By MYLENE MANGALINDAN, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Short : 39 lines
The Hampton Roads economy picked up in August but still lags behind national and state growth rates, according to an index released Tuesday.
The Hampton Roads Economic Performance Index, which uses seasonally adjusted job figures and average wage data to measure local economic activity, stood at 105.4, 1.9 percent higher than its year-earlier reading.
The numbers show the relation to a baseline - calculated using data from several past years - that is assigned a value of 100.
Increases in construction and mining employment boosted the index up sharply in August to just below its post-recession peak level this year.
``Right now, we're doing well,'' said David G. Garraty, a professor of management and business at Virginia Wesleyan College who compiles the index. ``The bad news is what's driving this is construction. In the next six to 12 months, it could peter out.''
The specter of rising interest rates might affect construction and then the regional recovery adversely, he said, because the local economy was so dependent upon construction for its strength in August.
Gains in wholesale and retail trade, services and government also helped the index reading but were offset somewhat by declines in finance, insurance and real estate, transportation, utilities and communications, and manufacturing.
Unlike Hampton Roads, state economic activity declined slightly in August. The Virginia Economic Performance Index fell to 104.6, down from 104.7 in July.
But the state index stands 2.8 percent above its year-earlier level, reflecting a stronger recovery in the state than in Hampton Roads. Construction also led the state index in employment gains. by CNB