Description

This latest edition of Virginia Economic Trends provides more
evidence that the economy has moved from its ‘recovery’ to
‘expansion’ phase. Based on employment figures, though, we
Virginians probably feel better about the economy than the
residents of many other states. September 2004 employment shows Virginia
expanding by 2.2% when compared to the prior year while national employment
grew only 1.3%. This growth rate ranks Virginia as the 7th fastest growing state
in the nation. With an unemployment rate of 3.2%, Virginia ranks 2nd—only
Hawaii has a lower rate.
The strong economic growth appears to be setting the stage for a healthy holiday
selling season. Virginia’s retail sales in September rose a sturdy 8.3% from a year
earlier after posting even higher gains in the previous 6 months.
Under girding the state’s economy is a relatively-highly educated and skilled
workforce. The increased skill level needed by firms today has begun to drive
economic developers to seek ways to identify the skills of their workforce in order
to attract the appropriate firms. The shift in firm emphasis on workforce as a
decision point in relocation has given the economic developers more reason to
work with workforce officials in their region. The missing component in this
endeavor is a tool to help these practitioners work together. Our feature article
presents one IT solution for this need.