By SHAWN PIATEK
In the face of what some economists are calling the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression, people in our region are more optimistic than the rest of the country.
That was one of the surprises announced on Friday at the annual Economic Summit. This year’s Regional Economic Climate Survey included a question about the outlook on the economy held by people in our region and the response was markedly more positive than similar studies done in the Mid-Atlantic and regionally.
The local survey showed that 75 percent of respondents were moderately to fully optimistic about the direction of the economy. Nationally, only 48 percent felt the same and just 58 percent of those living in Pennsylvania, Maryland and New Jersey have a positive outlook.
“I can’t remember ever seeing this kind of optimism in the region, but I have felt a real strong positive energy growing in our district,” said U.S. Rep. John Murtha, who made the opening address of the event.
“It’s evident that good things are happening here when you see people moving here from South Carolina and Spain. And that’s not happening because I’m here. It’s happening because people see the opportunity that our region holds.”
According to Ron Vickroy, what makes the response to the question locally even more surprising was the timing of the survey. The question was being asked locally in September and October when the nation’s economy took some of its biggest hits.
Vickroy said some of that optimism may be due to greater job growth expectations for next year in the region than elsewhere. Thirty-four percent of respondents said they plan to hire next year; significantly higher than a state survey that showed only 23 percent of employers across the commonwealth plan to add staff in 2009.
“I was surprised by the results given what was happening to the economy at the national level at that time,” said Vickroy, a Pitt-Johnstown professor who conducted the survey along with colleague John McGrath.
“We’ve had period where our anticipated growth was greater than it is for next year. But this is also the first time that the percentage of our employers planning to hire beat both state and national averages. That’s a real reason for optimism.”
Among the other notable survey results were the always popular regional strengths and weaknesses. Responses to both were in line with past results.
The greatest strengths, in order, were work ethic and loyalty of the work force, low cost of living and the region’s quality of life. Poor highway access again topped the list of weaknesses and was followed by poor infrastructure, tax structure and weather.
