UOP forecast: ‘Steady but unspectacular’ economic growth for Sacramento

Sacramento’s economy will continue expanding in 2016, but the growth rate won’t be off the chart.

Forecasters from the University of the Pacific, in their latest quarterly report, said Thursday that the regional economy will remain on the steady growth path it’s traveled the past few years. Job growth in the Sacramento area will clock in at 2.3 percent this year, down slightly from the 2.5 percent rate recorded in 2015, the forecasters said.

Job growth is expected to fall to 1.9 percent in 2017 in Sacramento, said the report from UOP’s Center for Business and Policy Research.

“Sacramento has been a bit of a laggard in the recovery,” the report said. “While there is a huge amount of optimism around revitalization in downtown Sacramento, and the area holds considerable promise for the future, the regional economy remains dominated by government, health care and real estate. … The biggest business story in the past five years has been the retention of a professional basketball team and the replacement of an outdated arena.

“As a result, we see continued steady but unspectacular growth for the Sacramento region driven by continued improvement in state government finances and a recovery real estate market,” the report added.

This story was originally published January 28, 2016 at 11:55 AM with the headline "UOP forecast: ‘Steady but unspectacular’ economic growth for Sacramento."