Damn. It really doesn't feel like it, though, does it? And, frankly, the economy probably won't feel quite right for a while. Things sank pretty low, and we should expect the economy to take a while to rebound.
All the same, UNC Charlotte economist John Connaughton says things are getting better. He's been offering Charlotte a quarterly economic forecast for years.
You can read Connaughton's economic forecast, delivered in Uptown yesterday, by clicking here.
If you'd like to attend future quarterly economic forecasts, sign up for the invite list here. (Look for the e-mail link near the bottom of the page.)
Meanwhile, this is what the Charlotte Business Journal is reporting from yesterday's meeting:
The N.C. economy should grow 3.5 percent in 2010, the first year of growth following two years of decline, according to the quarterly forecast of UNC Charlotte economist John Connaughton.While a modest recovery is under way, job growth is still lacking, Connaughton says. After two years of consistent job losses, we still havent seen a month of job growth either nationally or in North Carolina. Once job growth begins, it will be very slow. Its likely to take several years for the states economy to replace the almost 250,000 jobs lost over the last two years of recession.
Read the entire article here.