The regional economic outlook appears to be a little foggy.
 
That was the sentiment from the 25th annual economic forecast presented Wednesday morning at the Wilmington Convention Center. The forecast was hosted by RSM, the Wilmington Chamber of Commerce and Wilmington Business Development.
 
Southeastern North Carolina continues to outperform much of the state and country in several economic areas; however, there remains uncertainty in several areas, hence the fog.

Adam Jones of University of North Carolina’s Cameron School of Business reported that most of the numbers for the Wilmington region remain strong heading into the year.
 
“Wilmington started its recovery from the recession later than the rest of the country and is quickly catching up,” Jones said Wednesday.
 
“But starting later means we have a little more slack capacity to fuel growth over the coming year, and we expect Wilmington to outperform the national economy,” he said.
 
The unemployment rate in the three-county area is low, as Pender, Brunswick and New Hanover counties all saw their numbers shrink over the past year.
 
The housing market for the region goes into 2017 on a strong note, in terms of homes sold and median price.
 
Jones reiterated that the recovery in the area started late, but is now almost complete. He also reported that job openings remain elevated, and wages are increasing.
 
His reasons for concern in his forecast involve uncertainty. Jones pointed to items such as policy changes, where the special use permit is headed, the future of HB2, interest rates and regulations as things to watch.  
 
Overall, Jones was optimistic as he looked toward incomes improving, capacity for growth, consumption growth and a strong dollar, which is helping local industry. He also encouraged everyone to keep supporting all the local businesses in the region.
 
“Finally, job openings remain elevated suggesting that filling those positions should lead to growth,” Jones said. “However, the elevated levels of openings suggest there is some mismatch in skills between workers and employers and the matching process between workers and firms may be slow.”
 
On the national level, Rick Kaglic, a senior regional economist with the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond, presented an overview of where the country is headed in 2017.
 
“Economic growth, as measured by real GDP, is likely to remain close to 2 percent in 2017,” Kaglic said. “Some of the drags that have been weighing on output growth, such as the collapse of energy and other commodities prices, the stronger U.S. dollar, softer global economic growth, and uncertainty surrounding the elections in the U.S. and financial markets overseas, continue to wane.”
 
Kaglic added that consumer spending growth is likely to soften somewhat along with slightly slower job growth and modestly higher interest rates.
 
“Employment growth is likely to continue, although the monthly gains are unlikely to attain the lofty levels that we were seeing in 2014 - 2015. Demand for labor remains very firm, as evidenced by business surveys, initial unemployment claims data, and anecdotal reports,” he said. “But with the unemployment rate near the lowest level since early 2008, the pool of available workers continues to shrink.”