IE Business Daily Business news for the Inland Empire.
Business activity in the Inland Empire grew 2.3 percent between the second quarter of this year and the second quarter of 2016, according to data released Thursday.
That was slightly better year-over-year growth than the country experienced during that time. The U.S. gross domestic product grew 2.1 percent in that 12-month period, UC Riverside’s School of Business Center for Center for Economic Forecasting and Development reported in its quarterly Business Activity Index.
Construction had much to do with the business growth in Riverside and San Bernardino counties, as employment in that sector rose by 16.5 percent between July 2016 and July 2017.
“The impressive increase in construction activity in the Inland Empire is a very welcome trend on levels beyond the boost it gives to employment,” said Robert Kleinhenz, the center’s executive director of research, in a statement. “In particular the region – and the entire state – faces a serious housing affordability problem that can only be addressed in earnest by building more housing.”
Total employment growth in the Inland Empire has slowed recently because the two-county region has effectively reached full employment, the report stated.
