Recall John Connaughton, UNCC economist and Chamber cheerleader, from back in March:
The number of unemployed workers has fallen, and jobs are slowly returning. Although lagging indicators such as falling residential building permits and still-troubling foreclosure rates continue to pose a problem, 2011 will bring more job opportunities and more confident consumers, he said.
That means people will be more likely to spend – and economists won’t be called on as much to speculate on the region’s outlook, a sure sign of improvement, Connaughton said.
“By summer or next fall, you guys will stop calling me,” he said. “You won’t be seeing economy stories every night on the local news. That’s the difference.”
This would be the same Connaughton who forecast 2.2 percent growth for the state in 2010 in June of last year, only to revise it down to just 0.8 growth by last Spetember. Turns out the state economy grew by just 1 percent in 2010, following a contraction of 0.8 percent in 2009. Has Connaughton learned his lesson?
You tell me. He is now forecasting a 2.7 percent expansion for 2011.
