Progress Seen Despite Turbulent National Economy

The North Eastern Strategic Alliance (NESA), an economic development organization encompassing South Carolina’s northeast region, has had several pockets of economic success despite the turbulent regional and national economy, according to the newly released 2009 Economic Outlook.

Though in the near-term, the NESA region and the State of South Carolina will face challenges as a result of the global economic slowdown, the report, put together by Drs. Donald Schunk of Coastal Carolina University and Jonathan Munn of Francis Marion University, clearly lays out the economists’ belief that the NESA region will rebound from the current recession.

“While every recession is different, the one constant is that they all end with economic expansion,” the report states.

The report shows that NESA enjoyed “an increase in overall employment with a net increase of roughly 28,000 jobs” over the past decade. In addition, the NESA region’s per capita income increased at a 4.1 percent average annual rate, for a total increase of almost $8,000 from 1997 through 2006 -- rate of growth that was “on par” with the rest of the State, according to the report.

Similar to the rest of South Carolina and the country, the NESA region has suffered from a slump in the housing market that precipitated the present economic downturn, the report states. However, there are pockets of success even in this troubled industry, such as the Florence MSA which “has seen an increase in the number of building permits issued,” and shows a trend of “steady, positive growth for single family dwellings.”

“On the industrial side, we continue to see some very solid inquires into our area and we feel that this is driven by our competitive business climate,” said Jeff McKay, NESA’s Executive Director. “In today’s economy, companies are being forced to map out business strategies that allow them to take advantage of cost savings in order to remain competitive and sustain their businesses. In our region, we can certainly help them meet those challenges.”

“As long as we do not allow ourselves to lose sight of our long-term goals, we will be well prepared to take advantage of the opportunity that will be presented when the economic pendulum swings back in a positive direction,” McKay said.

The North Eastern Strategic Alliance (NESA) is a regional economic development organization that serves a nine-county region in the northeast corner of South Carolina. NESA’s primary objective is to significantly enhance the quality of life for residents of the region by creating additional jobs and capital investment within the existing industry base as well as through recruitment of new companies and expansion of tourism related development. NESA’s nine member counties are Chesterfield, Darlington, Dillon, Florence, Georgetown, Horry, Marion, Marlboro and Williamsburg.