IE Business Daily Business news for the Inland Empire.
Business activity in the Inland Empire rose 2.8 percent during the third quarter, a trend that is expected to grow during the next year, according to data released today.
That was a significant improvement from the second quarter’s 1.6 percent increase, but a decline from the activity recorded in the first quarter (4.7 percent) and the fourth quarter of 2021 (6.4 percent), the UC Riverside School of Business Center for Economic Forecasting and Development reported.
The expected decline in annualized business growth during the next 12 months is predictable because the Inland region “has transitioned firmly back to pre-pandemic conditions,” the report states.
“Since the pandemic’s lows, the Inland Empire has experienced a very steady economic recovery, outpacing coastal California along many key measures,” said Taner Osman, research manager at the forecast center and one of the business activity index;’s co-authors.
“While we are now seeing some weakness in the residential real estate market, that has been largely offset by growth in employment, the labor force, consumer spending, building permits, and commercial real estate.”
Perhaps the index’s most surprising finding was the health of the Inland office market. Requests for building permits are up nearly 380 percent this year, despite many people still working out of their homes, while office vacancy has remained flat, according to the index.
