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11:17 a.m. • 5-23-13

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Published: 2008-10-06 17:52:00
Updated: 2008-10-06 19:06:30

Amid tough times, Raleigh economy experiencing growth


old Raleigh skyline
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If the hustle and bustle on Fayetteville Street in downtown Raleigh means anything, it looks like this Main Street USA is doing OK.

An analysis by Moody's Economy.com puts Raleigh in the handful of metropolitan areas – 14 percent – that are experiencing economic growth instead of recession.

"Our diverse economy really helps us – that is, that we have lots of different businesses, including small- or medium-sized ones that are growing," Mayor Charles Meeker said. "We also have a lot of health care and education here, and those are very solid businesses, even in hard times."

Mike Walden, an economist at North Carolina State University says the city has been hit, just not as hard as other cities, like Charlotte.

According to Moody's report, the Queen City is one of the nation's 250 metropolitan areas already in a recession. Seventy-six more are at risk.

"Yes, we have suffered through economic downturn, but we haven't suffered as much as many other regions," Walden said.

Some small-business owners in downtown Raleigh, however, say business has been slipping for the past year.

"We've been off considerably, and all the other people I've talked to, other small-businessmen echoed the same sentiments," said Joe Sciolino, who's owned Joe's Place restaurant in downtown Raleigh for 25 years.

So what does Sciolino think about Raleigh's good economic news?

"My dad always said, 'Figures lie and liars figure.' So, I don't believe it," Sciolino said.

He says he hopes that the city's new convention center will help improve business for him and others in downtown Raleigh.

Mayor Meeker says especially given the events on Wall Street in the past month, the city has to greet any positive economic news with cautious optimism.


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Most of the negative comments on here are related to construction and real estate. Yes, that's definitely a sector that's going to feel the pinch so I feel for you guys. Hope you buried your nuts for the winter.

Government is probably the Raleigh sector that is most insulated from the downturn...they'll spend more and tax more. Why? Because in a few short weeks, their bi-annual job interviews are over.

When many of us are finally going out of this recession, many more will be going in. Trust me.

I hope the mayor knows what usually happens when you get to the top of the hill. You have to come back down and in this economy I can not imagine it being a fun ride.

My impression is most people in Raleigh are doing just fine economically. But as the media constantly works to scare them about the economy, their natural reaction is to take a wait and see approach, and tighten their spending. The people that get hurt in that scenario are generally the ones that provide "wants," rather than "needs."

People need to eat, but going to a restaurant may seem like wasteful when you're constantly being told the economy is about to bust.

Hmmm...the economy is bad, but I can't even get a contractor to come out and shoot me an estimate for a small front porch addition to my house because the job is "too small"....

Obviously, the contractors aren't hungry enough.

Maybe if I sugar it up with a whole house paint job and some soffit repairs the job will be "big enough".

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