IE Business Daily Business news for the Inland Empire.
Business in Riverside and San Bernardino counties grew steadily during the second quarter, a trend that is expected to last through the end of this year, according to a report.
The region’s Business Activity Index during that time was 2.6 percent, up 0.4 percent compared with the first quarter, the UC Riverside School of Business Center for Economic Forecasting and Development reported.
That was lower than the U.S. gross domestic product, which grew by 4.1 percent during the second quarter. However, between the second quarter of 2017 and the second quarter of this year, business activity grew four percent in the Inland region compared with 2.8 percent growth in the national GDP.
“If you consider the Inland Empire’s business activity along side its record-low unemployment rate, and job growth that is outpacing the rest of Southern California, it becomes pretty clear that the local economy is on solid footing,” said Robert Kleinhenz, the center’s executive director of research and one of the index’s authors, in the statement.
Despite some concern about international trade disputes, the center is predicting an increase in business activity in the Inland Empire of 2.5 to three percent during the third quarter, according to the index.
