NEWPORT NEWS, Va. (WAVY) — Though it may not look like it, the region’s economic outlook is trending up, according to Old Dominion University’s annual regional outlook released Friday by the Dragas Center for Economic Analysis and Policy in Newport News.
Employees continue to add jobs across Virginia and in Hampton Roads. Nationally, the unemployment rate is 4%, but in Virginia, it’s below 3%.
“We’re creating more jobs,” said Dr. Vinod Agarwal, ODU’s director of the economic forecasting project. “We have the lowest unemployment in the last 20 years. We have more job openings than we have people unemployed. So, if you’re looking for work, the jobs are there.”
As far as the military, Department of Defense spending makes up 40% of the area’s economic activity. And thanks to an appropriations bill being approved after having been held up, that spending is once again flowing. But when you look at housing, food and fuel, it’s easy to see why consumer confidence is low.
“If we want to see this economy grow, we need to create more affordable housing for the working class,” Agarwal said. “For fireman, for policeman, for high school teachers, for teachers, for city employees, they can’t seem to afford to live here anymore.”
Single-family mortgages are at an all-time high. And since people can’t afford to own a home, they’re renting, which is causing monthly rents to increase.
“We need to look at how we permit housing developments and streamline that and encourage the development of more housing in Hampton Roads,” said ODU Department of Economics chairman Bob McNab.
Also, the Port of Virginia’s market share is rising due in part to extra cargo and ship traffic in the wake of the Key Bridge collapse.
Experts add our regional economy is on par to grow at the same rate as the national economy, saying consumer sentiment should rise in 2025.