The 15th annual Sacramento Business Review’s economic forecast offered a positive glimpse of the downtown arena project’s impact. but it also stressed a continued weak spot in the region’s business climate.
The forecast, co-authored by Sacramento State’s College of Business Administration, began with a look at the project’s impact.
“The positive psychology and momentum from the new arena construction has already created more economic activity from downtown to midtown, with significant impact on property values and vacancy rates,” wrote Sanjay Varshney, chief economist for the Sacramento Business Review.
The SBR report found that the region has recovered from all the jobs lost during the recession. The authors are forecasting continued growth in investment around the Golden 1 Center.
However, the report said most of the recovered jobs have been lower-paying jobs in retail and leisure. And so far, the arena project hasn’t attracted major companies to relocate to the Sacramento region.
“It is no secret that Sacramento has a dearth of large employers,” the report said. “Therefore, it should be no surprise that our average hourly earnings growth continues to remain near the bottom of our peer group.”