Northshore economy is a mixed bag in the second quarter

It’s a bit of good news/bad news for the Northshore’s economy. A second-quarter report issued by the St. Tammany Economic Development Foundation indicates the unemployment rate was 4.8%, lower than the state’s 6.6% rate and the 9.3% rate for the country as a whole. Home sales also rose more than 45%. Some 634 homes sold, compared to 437 in the first quarter of 2009, indicating the market for residential real estate may be rebounding after multi-quarter slump. Now, for the bad news. Residential and commercial building permits were down more than 50% compared to the same period last year. There was also a 5.1% decline in new licensed businesses in the second quarter, although a large number of new businesses licensed in the first quarter still brings the number of business licenses to date up 8.7% over the first half of 2008. Meanwhile, retail sales fell 8.3% to $927.9 million, from $1.06 billion in the second quarter of 2008. “In the big picture, St. Tammany is faring very well,” says STEDF Executive Director Brenda Reine Bertus. “[The parish] is very well-positioned in the current economy.” To read the full report, click here.