Digital divide creating gaps within Hispanic community
8/20/2010San Antonio Business Journal
Latinos continue to lag behind non-Latinos in their use of digital technologies such as the Internet, says The Pew Hispanic Center, a Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit research organization.
There is also a digital divide within the Hispanic community, as foreign-born Latinos continue to lag significantly behind U.S.-born Latinos in their use of digital technologies, according to a new Pew Hispanic Center report.
Steve Nivin, director and chief economist for San Antonio’s SABER Research Institute, an alliance of St. Mary’s University and the San Antonio Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, says that digital divide should be a concern for the Alamo City, which has one of the nation’s largest Hispanic populations. And he says it is symptomatic of larger educational challenges that could affect this region’s economic opportunities long-term.
Read the full article at San Antonio Business Journal online.
San Antonio economists dismiss speculation of double-dip recession
7/27/10San Antonio Business Journal
Despite what some economists are predicting, neither the San Antonio nor the national economy is headed for a double-dip recession.
That’s at least what two San Antonio economists with the SABER Research Institute are contending in a research report. SABER is funded by St. Mary’s University and the San Antonio Hispanic Chamber of Commerce.
Steve Nivin, chief economist and director of SABER, and Keith Phillips, senior economist and policy advisor for the San Antonio Branch of the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas, released their findings Tuesday morning in their mid-year economic report.
Read the full article at the San Antonio Business Journal online.
Economists:
S.A. to replace '09 job losses this year
7/27/2010By David Hendricks - Express-News
After a slow start, San Antonio employers this year should hire for all the jobs lost in 2009, while Texas overall must wait until the end of 2011 to replace the 3.4 percent jobs lost statewide last year, economists said Tuesday.
San Antonio job growth this year grew at an annual rate of only 1.1 percent the first six months of this year, a slower-than-projected pace, said Steve Nivin, chief economist and director of the SABER Institute, a joint program of the San Antonio Hispanic Chamber of Commerce and St. Mary's University.
Nivin still projected job growth of 2 to 2.25 percent by the time 2010 ends during a midyear forecast breakfast held by the chamber, attended by about 100 people.
Read the full article at the San Antonio Express-News - Online.
San Antonio & Nation NOT Headed for Double Dip Recession
7/27/2010Lucha Ramey, St. Mary's University
SAN ANTONIO – In a mid-year economic update given this morning at a SABÉR Research Institute event, two local economists presented data that shows that neither San Antonio nor the nation is going into a double dip recession as indicated by some economists.
The findings were presented by Steve Nivin, Ph.D., SABÉR chief economist and director, and Keith Phillips, Ph.D., senior economist and policy advisor for the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas-San Antonio Branch. Nivin and Phillips updated their economic projections and findings first presented back in January.
Read the full article here.
50,000 to pack city for AA convention
6/30/2010San Antonio Express-News
William Pack
San Antonio will be bursting at the seams with Alcoholics Anonymous members and their supporters this weekend.
More than 50,000 people are expected to participate in the 75th anniversary International Convention of Alcoholics Anonymous, which would make it the largest single event San Antonio has hosted.
But not everyone attending actually will stay in San Antonio. ... Read the full article at the San Antonio Express-News.
S.A. has a rare April-May fall in joblessness
6/18/2010San Antonio Express-News
Patrick Danner
Hospitality and leisure travel businesses gearing up for the summer vacation season propelled the pace of hiring last month in San Antonio, giving the area its first monthly decline in the unemployment rate from April to May in at least a decade.
May too was noteworthy for Texas because it was the first time since December 2008 that the state has registered a positive annual job growth rate.
The area added 3,400 nonagricultural jobs in May, dropping the unemployment rate to 7.1 percent from 7.3 percent in April. The jobless rate stood at 6.3 percent in May 2009. ... Read the full article at the San Antonio Express-News.
Signs of life
6/24/2010The Economist online
NEWS about the relationship between Mexico and the United States has been mostly dismal of late. Every day brings reports of new murders in Mexico and new flare-ups over border security. But in one respect, at least, things are looking up. According to the Bureau of Transportation Statistics, surface-transport trade between the two countries was $27.8 billion in March of this year—up nearly $8 billion from March 2009, and nearly as high as it has ever been.
Roberto Coronado, an economist with the Federal Reserve based in El Paso, says that much of the growth is due to increased industrial production in America, particularly of cars. In the face of recession many manufacturers chose to cut their output, and Mexico’s maquiladora industry, a large part of which is devoted to making car parts, faltered as a result. As confidence returned, the orders resumed. Without that surge, Mr Coronado notes, America’s GDP growth over the past several quarters would have been much smaller.
It is a welcome sign of life for both sides. True, the effects of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) have been hard to assess. But in south Texas and San Antonio, one of the cities where NAFTA was signed, there is no doubt that it has helped growth. A 2009 study from the SABER Research Institute, based at St Mary’s University in San Antonio, found that trade flows in south Texas increased almost 160% between 1994 and 2007 as a result of NAFTA.
Read the full article here.
San Antonio primed for post-recession bounce, local economists say
6/14/2010San Antonio Express-News
W. Scott Bailey
Texas economist Travis Tullos, who has produced a new report comparing the economies of the state’s largest metropolitan areas, says San Antonio is best positioned for a post-recession surge. In fact, while some U.S. cities have struggled more than others during the downturn, Tullos says he expects that San Antonio can regain much, if not all, of the economic momentum it enjoyed prior to the economic crisis. ... Read the full article at the San AntonioBusiness Journal.
S.A. stands to gain as complex opens
3/30/2010San Antonio Express-News - Online
William Pack
An already busy Holy Week in San Antonio is about to be supercharged by the arrival of potentially free-spending fans of women's basketball. The NCAA Women's Final Four is expected to generate $20.9 million in spending by about 28,000 visitors from outside the San Antonio area, according to an initial estimate. That would put the event on par with the economic boost created by the 2008 Rock 'n' Roll San Antonio Marathon & Half-Marathon. It also would slightly outweigh the impact of the last Women's Final Four held in San Antonio, eight years ago. That Final Four drew sellout crowds of 29,619 to San Antonio in 2002, setting national attendance records that still stand. Consultants estimated then that the direct impact would not exceed $20.3 million. "The economic impact is very positive for San Antonio," said Marco Barros, president of the San Antonio Tourism Council.
Hospitality officials said Holy Week travelers already had boosted hotel occupancy rates this week. The arrival Thursday and Friday of teams, fans and media should produce strong results for early April. "We're sold out Monday and Tuesday, and there are only a few rooms left Sunday," said John R. Wallace, general manager of the Omni La Mansión del Rio hotel and the Watermark Hotel & Spa. "This week will be very good." Sporting events such as the Final Four have become big economic generators because of the large number of out-of-town fans they draw and the amount those fans spend at restaurants, auto rental outlets and tourist attractions. Steve Nivin, a St. Mary's University economist ... Read the full article at the San Antonio Express-News - Online.
S.A. job market sees rebound in February
3/25/2010San Antonio Express-News - Online
William Pack
San Antonio's job picture brightened in February, leaving an impression that the worst of the economic storm is behind us. “I think we've probably hit bottom, and we're starting to grow,” said Keith Phillips, senior economist with the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas in San Antonio. San Antonio's unemployment rate rebounded slightly from at least a 20-year high of 7.7 percent in January. February's rate was 7.4 percent, still one of the highest rates recorded in the area since the early 1990s. But it also was the second-lowest rate among Texas' largest cities. Austin's rate in February was the best at 7.2 percent. El Paso was the worst at 9.6 percent, about a percentage point higher than Houston's unemployment. Overall, Texas recorded an 8.2 percent unemployment rate in February, the same it's been for four months. Phillips and St. Mary's University economist Steve Nivin both predict about a 2 percent job growth for ... Read the full article at the San Antonio Express-News - Online.
S.A. stands to gain as complex opens
1/21/2010San Antonio Express-News - Online
Tony Cantú
Port San Antonio officials recently unveiled an economic impact study revealing a $1.5 billion economic ripple effect on the local economy attributed to the aerospace industry.
Well represented at the industrial park with tenants such as Lockheed-Martin and Boeing plants along with Standard Aero and Chromalloy, the aerospace industry employs 4,000 local workers with another 8,000 jobs they help support, said port spokesman Paco Felici.
“These results certainly underscore the work of the port in attracting and retaining these types of customers over the past several years,” Felici said of the study conducted by St. Mary's University economist Steve Nivin. ... Read the full article at the San Antonio Express-News - Online.
S.A. stands to gain as complex opens
1/21/2010San Antonio Express-News - Online
Williams Pack
The once-controversial JW Marriott San Antonio Hill Country Resort & Spa and TPC San Antonio golf complex opens today, possibly packing a half-billion dollars' worth of economic punch and elevating San Antonio's standing to a top-tier tourist hotspot.
The latest economic impact estimate comes from a 2002 San Antonio Economic Development Foundation study, which predicted a $311.5 million impact. But that figure is based on 1999 economic data, does not include the amount visitors are expected to spend and was calculated when the project was planned to be smaller. ... Read the full article at the San Antonio Express-News - Online.
Port's aerospace industry boasts $1.5 billion impact
1/19/2010San Antonio Express-News - Online
Patrick Dunner
The 13 aerospace-related companies that operate at Port San Antonio employ about 4,300 workers and account for $1.46 billion in annual economic activity, according to a study released Tuesday.
Those companies, that specialize in aircraft repair, maintenance and overhaul, have produced 4,500 indirect jobs. The direct and indirect jobs have an annual payroll of about $487 million, the study found.
Port San Antonio commissioned the SABER Research Institute, a collaboration between St. Mary's University and the San Antonio Hispanic Chamber of Commerce ... Read the full article at the San Antonio Express-News - Online.
Port San Antonio Aerospace Customers Generate Nearly $1.5 Billion in Annual Economic Activity Within the Region
1/19/2010Thirteen companies at the Port support employment for thousands of area workers; Growth foreseen in 2010
www.portsanantonio.us
Paco Felici
SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS—Port San Antonio today released an economic impact study showing that the 13 aerospace companies that operate within the complex account for more than 8,000 local jobs, representing $1.46 billion in annual economic activity in the region.
Port San Antonio commissioned the SABÉR institute, a research collaborative between St. Mary’s University and the San Antonio Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, to analyze employment and other data provided by the aerospace companies with facilities on the Port’s campus. The study indicated that in 2010, 4,300 area residents are directly employed by the companies. Most of them work in aircraft repair, maintenance and overhaul. Furthermore, the aerospace companies create indirect or induced employment for an additional 4,500 people. Combined, this local workforce earns $487 million annually.
The companies also help generate $683 million in value added impacts for the local economy along with $145 million in local, state and federal taxes.
“These findings are a powerful reaffirmation that Port San Antonio is on the right track to continue healthy economic growth into the 21st century,” said Bruce Miller, President and CEO of Port San Antonio. “The Port and its aerospace customers are making a real difference that is providing thousands of families in our community economic stability today and a future they can look forward to.”
Miller also noted that the jobs in the aerospace industry are among the best paying in area. According to Texas Workforce Commission figures, aircraft manufacturing, maintenance, repair and overhaul workers earn an average annual salary of approximately $50,000.
“We are very encouraged by the way Port San Antonio is supporting the healthy growth of our city,” said Ramiro Cavazos, President and CEO of the San Antonio Hispanic Chamber of Commerce. “Each new skilled job added at Port San Antonio increases demand for the goods and services provided by businesses throughout our community.”
The thirteen aerospace companies at Port San Antonio are Aerospace Products, SE; Atlantic Aviation; ACHEM, Inc.; The Boeing Company; Boeing Services Company; Chromalloy Gas Turbine Corporation; EG&G KDC; GexPro; Gore Design Completions; Lockheed Martin; New Breed Logistics; Pratt & Whitney; and Standard Aero.
Several Port San Antonio aerospace tenants are also preparing for new work at the Port.
In 2009 Boeing invested $6.4 million to improve its hangar at Port San Antonio so it can soon begin working on its next generation of aircraft—the 787 Dreamliner—at the complex.
Lockheed Martin is focusing on the development of new commercial business in addition to its military aircraft engine maintenance, repair and overhaul work at its facility in Port San Antonio.
Gore Design Completions announced in May 2009 that it is outgrowing the 120,000 square-foot hangar Port San Antonio built when the company first arrived to the complex in 2005. The company, which designs and builds customized interiors for large aircraft, will add 65,000 square feet of office and support space to the hangar. This expansion will improve the efficiency with which Gore’s employees fulfill projects for customers, which include foreign heads of state and other VIPs.
In 2010 the City of San Antonio and Port San Antonio will begin work on a project which will open 150 acres of land adjacent to Kelly Field for new development. The available property will allow new aircraft maintenance facilities access to Kelly Field. The $40 million project is being funded by the Port, the City of San Antonio and the federal government. That total includes almost $15 million in federal stimulus funding awarded for the project by the San Antonio-Bexar County Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) in 2009.
Port San Antonio also helps its aerospace customers develop the skilled workforce they need. Since 2007 the Port has awarded almost $345,000 in grants to St. Philip’s College, part of Alamo Colleges, to support skills training for aerospace workers. Last year St. Philip’s used part of the award to provide various courses to Chromalloy, Standard Aero and Lockheed employees, with funds remaining to train Boeing workers once 787 Dreamliner work begins at Port San Antonio. Alamo Colleges has also recognized that Port San Antonio’s awards have been a catalyst for more than $1.1 million in additional funding St. Philip’s received from the Texas Workforce Commission (TWC) to support similar training of aerospace workers at Port San Antonio.
The Port is also a strong supporter of the Alamo Colleges District’s Aerospace Academy. The Aerospace Academy provides area high school students hands-on courses in aircraft maintenance, repair and overhaul, including paid summer internships with some of Port San Antonio’s aerospace customers. Since the Academy’s inauguration in 2002, Port San Antonio has provided scholarships and other incentives to help recruit and graduate almost 250 students to date, many of whom advance to careers at aerospace companies on the Port’s campus.
New year will bring new jobs to S.A. bases
12/22/2009San Antonio Express-News - Online
Jason Buch
Military construction accounted for the majority of commercial projects in San Antonio this year. But as construction winds down, new job opportunities will be available at the city's bases.
Hundreds of administrative, research and civilian personnel will be coming to San Antonio's military bases in 2010. Not all of the military's civilian contractors will want to relocate, and experts say that means the military will be looking to hire locally.
The military will transfer about 5,500 jobs to Fort Sam Houston from ... Read the full article at the San Antonio Express-News - Online.
City ranks near top in hiring survey
12/7/2009San Antonio Express-News - Online
Patrick Danner
The hiring outlook for San Antonio remains among the best in the country, the latest survey by Manpower Inc. shows. Only Columbus, Ga., ranked higher than San Antonio in Manpower's first-quarter employment-outlook survey of 201 metropolitan statistical areas.
The global-staffing agency reported 19 percent of the San Antonio companies interviewed plan to hire from January through March, while 7 percent expect to trim their work force. That represents a net gain of 12 percentage points. Columbus, Ga., posted a net gain of 18 percentage points to finish on top.
"Some of the companies we speak to say business is picking up," said Roxanne Esquivel, branch manager of Manpower's local office at 135 S.W. Military Drive. Historically, she said, hiring tends to rise in the first quarter.
San Antonio was one of five Texas areas to rank among the top 11 markets in Manpower's survey, suggesting the Lone Star State is avoiding the worst of the economic downturn. The others are Amarillo, which registered a net gain of 11 percentage points; the McAllen-Edinburg-Mission area and Laredo, each at 10 percentage points; and Dallas-Fort Worth areas, 9 percentage points.
No areas in Texas finished at the very bottom of the survey. San Antonio's outlook was a marked improvement over survey results for the fourth quarter and the first quarter of 2009, when the Alamo City posted net gains of 5 percentage points and 7 percentage points, respectively.
"It's a good, positive indicator," said Steve Nivin ... Read the full article at the San Antonio Express-News - Online.
Economics might help UT merger decision
10/21/2009San Antonio Express-News - Online
David Hendricks
As the University of Texas at San Antonio celebrates its 40th anniversary and the UT Health Science Center at San Antonio reaches a half-century, the UT System last week created a committee to study a merger of the two.
Perhaps one plus one can equal more than two.
Considering the economic ripple effects of the two institutions ... Read the full article at the San Antonio Express-News - Online.
Area job markets stay in doldrums
10/17/2009San Antonio Express-News - Online
Williams Pack
Labor markets in Texas and San Antonio continued to wobble in September and could be months from a turnaround even if the recession continues loosening its grip, analysts said Friday.
“We'll start seeing more solid numbers for San Antonio in 2010,” said Steve Nivin, a St. Mary's University economist and head of an economics think tank there. “I'd be surprised if we'll see much improvement this year.” ... Read the full article at the San Antonio Express-News - Online.
Output grew despite recession
09/25/2009San Antonio Express-News - Online
Williams Pack
With solid contributions from the financial and professional services sectors, San Antonio's economic output grew last year at a slower rate than in 2007, but it was still a respectable pace compared with other cities.
The Bureau of Economic Analysis produced a report Thursday on the output — or gross domestic product — of the country's 366 metropolitan areas that ranked San Antonio the 76th-fastest growing economy in 2008.
Its gross domestic product, like those of most other cities, slowed from 2007, when it hit a 3.3 percent growth rate. But 2.4 percent growth in 2008 still won applause from economists.
“It's good that we still saw growth,” said Steve Nivin, a St. Mary's University economics professor and longtime analyst of area growth. “A lot of areas shrank.” ... Read the full article at the San Antonio Express-News - Online.
Summer tourism business slipped
09/17/2009San Antonio Express-News - Online
Williams Pack
The summer travel season this year did not pack the economic punch that it has for San Antonio in the past, but the struggles are not expected to bring hospitality interests to their knees.
This summer's visitor count at area attractions was down by about 10 percent compared with 2008, said Marco Barros, president of the San Antonio Area Tourism Council. But since the 2008 summer was strong, a 10 percent decline was considered “not that bad,” Barros said.
“It's gone down this year, but relatively speaking, the industry has done well,” said Steve Nivin, a St. Mary's University economics professor. ... Read the full article at the San Antonio Express-News.
City's budget forecasts not always on target
09/13/2009San Antonio Express-News - Online
Gilbert Garcia
In August 2008, City Manager Sheryl Sculley announced that a big summer spike in CPS Energy revenue had solved the city's short-term budget crunch.
The surprise infusion of $33 million from CPS seemingly enabled the city to balance its budget with minimal pain — months after the city's budget office had projected a deficit for fiscal year 2009.
Last April, the city's midyear budget report found that the CPS oasis had been a mirage. Citing plummeting natural gas prices, budget staffers concluded that they'd overestimated CPS revenues for the year by nearly the exact amount of the projected summer spike. Facing a huge, unexpected shortfall ... Read the full article at the San Antonio Express-News.
Jobless rate in S.A. area at 7.1 percent
8/22/2009San Antonio Express-News
Williams Pack
San Antonio-area unemployment jumped to a 10-year high in July and the job count shrank by 8,100, but economists contend the future looks brighter than the numbers suggest.
“There are some straws in the wind suggesting things are going to turn,” said Keith Phillips, senior economist with the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas in San Antonio ... Read the full article at the San Antonio Express-News.
Economists: Alamo City poised for steady rebound
8/22/2009San Antonio Express-News
Williams Pack
The predictions are pretty good: a gut-wrenching recession is likely to draw slowly to a close in 2010, and San Antonio could be positioned strongly enough to help massage the economy back to health.
So where are the marching bands and confetti?
They've been put on hold by the growing expectation that if a recovery occurs, it won't be robust either across the country or in San Antonio.
"Gradual improvement is a good way to put it," said Steve Nivin, an economist who directs a think tank developed by St. Mary's University and the San Antonio Hispanic Chamber of Commerce. "That fits with our historical pattern." ... Read the full article at the San Antonio Express-News.
Budget problems predicted despite growing economy
8/14/2009San Antonio Express-News
Williams Pack
Evidence has been mounting that the nation's economy is approaching a turnaround, and San Antonio's economy routinely outperforms the nation, so why is the city's budget outlook filled with two years of gloom?
Budget Director Peter Zanoni said it's not because his office is out of touch.
In fact, planners have worked hard this year to understand a perplexing economic spiral, even checking in with comparable cities to see that San Antonio's projections are reasonable ... Read the full article at the San Antonio Express-News.
Personal income growing
8/07/2009San Antonio Express-News
Williams Pack
San Antonio received another shot of economic good news Thursday when a federal report showed it had some of the fastest-growing personal income in the nation last year.
The U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis issued a report on personal income growth that showed San Antonio was tied for fourth among the 52 largest metropolitan areas when total personal income growth was measured from 2007 to 2008.
Personal income is revenues received by people from all sources: the workplace, rental properties, investments and government contributions such as Social Security and unemployment insurance. ... Read the full article at the San Antonio Express-News.
Additional jobless benefits in sight
7/18/2009San Antonio Express-News
Williams Pack and Peggy Fikac
The sting of rising unemployment in June was softened Friday by word that a federally funded extension of jobless benefits should kick in by the end of the month when thousands of Texans will see existing assistance run out.
Gov. Rick Perry and Texas Workforce Commission Chairman Tom Pauken said the 13-week extension that earlier this week seemed destined for a delay lasting months should instead be implemented by the end of July.
“I am pleased TWC has worked with the Department of Labor on a solution that will allow eligible Texans to begin receiving extended unemployment benefits by July 31, without months of delay that ... Read the full article at the San Antonio Express-News.
S.A. hiring outlook down in 3Q
6/16/2009San Antonio Express-News
William Pack
The San Antonio-area hiring outlook for the upcoming quarter is the best among Texas’ largest cities, but still is down steeply from hiring expectations for the current quarter, Manpower Inc. reports.
The global staffing agency’s Third Quarter Employment Outlook Survey predicts sluggish hiring growth by employers nationwide for the quarter that starts in July and only moderate growth in the San Antonio area.
In San Antonio, 19 percent of the companies surveyed said they expect to hire more ... Read the full article at the San Antonio Express-News.
Economist ‘No sector unscathed' in Alamo City
6/16/2009San Antonio Express-News
William Pack
A Wells Fargo economist said the recession, while late arriving in Texas, is having a damaging impact on San Antonio's resilient economy and on the city's prized Toyota Tundra plant.
Senior economist Eugenio Alemán touted that $1.28 billion truck assembly plant as a game-changer for San Antonio and Texas when it was rumbling into operation three years ago.
But in his newest economic outlook, Alemán said Toyota's investment in the plant could become “a big mistake” if consumers stay away from ... Read the full article at the San Antonio Express-News.
Creative economy on a roll
5/22/2009San Antonio Express-News
William Pack
Divided and neglected no more, the city's creative sector of artists, designers, art dealers and related professions has developed into something few might have predicted — an economic force.
An updated economic impact report on what is called the creative economy in San Antonio estimates it produced almost $3.4 billion in economic activity in 2006, underwriting almost 27,000 jobs and $1 billion in wages.
That represents growth of more than 33 percent from 2000, which could outpace the growth of the city's economy overall, officials said. The sector's economic punch falls slightly behind the ... Read the full article at the San Antonio Express-News.
Author touts right-brain thinking to fuel economy
5/21/2009San Antonio Express-News
David Hendricks
Author Daniel Pink believes he is a left-brain person. He wants to shift to being a right-brain person and thinks everyone else needs to, also.
Because that is the direction the U.S. economy is moving.
Pink, a former speech writer for ex-Vice President Al Gore, is author of “A Whole New Mind: Why Right-Brainers Will Rule the Future.” Using the right side of the brain will become what the U.S. economy will value from now on, the author told about 300 people during a San Antonio Hispanic Chamber of Commerce luncheon Wednesday ... Read the full article at the San Antonio Express-News.
Command may be in S.A. by end of the year
5/16/2009San Antonio Express-News
Gary Martin
WASHINGTON — Air Force officials said Friday they would begin an environmental impact study immediately and hope to have a newly created cyber command up and running at Lackland AFB by the end of the year.
San Antonio leaders say moving the headquarters of the command and 400 new positions to Lackland for an around-the-clock operation would mean an annual economic impact of $30 million annually in salaries alone.
“Those are good, solid, good-paying jobs that last through economic times, good and bad,” Bexar County Judge Nelson Wolff said. Read the full article at the San Antonio Express-News.
S.A. college grads find themselves in luck
5/12/2009WOAI.com
Aubrey Mika Chancellor
SAN ANTONIO -- Thousands of college graduates around San Antonio walked the stage this past weekend. This year, they're facing an especially tough job market. But, it may be better than the rest of the nation ... Read the full article at WOAI.com.
Creative economy on a roll
5/6/2009San Antonio Express-News
William Pack
Divided and neglected no more, the city's creative sector of artists, designers, art dealers and related professions has developed into something few might have predicted — an economic force.
An updated economic impact report on what is called the creative economy in San Antonio estimates it produced almost $3.4 billion in economic activity in 2006, underwriting almost 27,000 jobs and $1 billion in wages ... Read the full article at the San Antonio Express-News - Online.
S.A. may be through ‘the worst'
4/29/2009San Antonio Express-News
William Pack
A new economic forecast by the Greater San Antonio Chamber of Commerce says business hardships will continue this year, though other Texas cities will feel them more.
A revamped quarterly economic report by the chamber said San Antonio's economic performance was the second best among Texas' five largest cities as of January. Analysts expect it to retain that standing through 2009.
“I'm optimistic that the worst of this economic decline is over,” Chamber President Richard Perez said in introducing the report.
Also Tuesday, Steve Nivin, chief economist for a research institute developed by the San Antonio Hispanic Chamber of Commerce and St. Mary's University, said San Antonio and the entire state were in a recession, though it took hold in Texas about a year after it struck nationally.
Nivin's report said while San Antonio's unemployment rate was the lowest among Texas' largest cities in March, it is likely to continue growing toward 7 percent.
Nivin predicts that a recovery could start toward the end of 2009, but he warned that considerable uncertainty clouds the future ... Read the full article at the San Antonio Express-News - Online.
S.A. sees 1st annual job loss in 5 years
03/31/2009San Antonio Express-News
William Pack
The state and San Antonio-area job markets continued to struggle in February as both saw job counts decline from February 2008 — the first decline in more than five years.
San Antonio's nonfarm job total hit 845,000 in February, according to the newest report from state work force, released Thursday. That's 800 less than the jobs total in February 2008.
Statewide, the employment total reached 10.5 million in February. That's 62,600 fewer — a 0.6 percent decline — from a year earlier.
“Texans are facing tough economic times now with significant statewide job losses,” Texas Workforce Commission Chairman Tom Pauken said.
San Antonio's employment report was not all bad, however.
February's job total was 7,700 more than a month ago, an increase that could be partly due to the larger-than-normal ... Read the full article at the San Antonio Express-News - Online.
Economics professor to dissect recession
03/24/2009San Antonio Express-News - Online
Steven Nivin, an economics professor at St. Mary’s University, will talk about how the federal stimulus package can help San Antonio at 9:20 a.m. today at the University Center in conference room A.
Nivin, an economics expert, will take an in-depth look at ... Read the full article at the San Antonio Express-News - Online.
Global recession sneaking into San Antonio
02/11/2009San Antonio Express-News - Online
Steve Nivin
The San Antonio and Texas economies have, to some extent, resisted the trend of economic decline being experienced around the globe.
But the drag from the national and global recession is starting to impact our local economy in force.
I still do not believe the economic slowdown in San Antonio will be as bad in other regional economies, but that is about as much as I can sugar coat it.
I believe as you look through this report you will see that the recession is already starting to ... Read the full article at the San Antonio Express-News - Online.
Hispanic Chamber of Commerce to celebrate its 80th anniversary
01/30/2009San Antonio Express-News - Online
Marissa Villa - Conexión
Since the start of the Great Depression, Hispanic business owners in San Antonio have had an organization dedicated to helping them succeed.
The San Antonio Hispanic Chamber of Commerce will celebrate its 80th anniversary at their annual installation banquet, which will be held Jan. 30 at the Grand Hyatt Hotel with Gov. Rick Perry as keynote speaker.
The role that it served then was to be an association to help Mexican and Hispanic owned businesses support each other in an environment that was not very supportive, said Ramiro Cavazos, the chamber's president and CEO. Here it is, 80 years later and we're still doing that.
The chamber, which was the first of its kind in the country, started out as the Mexican Chamber of Commerce and has gone through two name changes since. Its role then was different than what it is now since the necessities of the Hispanic business community have changed over time.
During the chamber's first years the focus was harmony between the U.S. and Mexico ... Read the full article at the San Antonio Express-News - Online.
Fire Department's overtime is highest
01/25/2009San Antonio Express-News - Online
Greg Jefferson and Kelly Guckian - Express-News
The San Antonio Fire Department racked up the most overtime in city government in the past couple of years, largely because of a shortage of support personnel. Some workers put in enough extra hours to double their pay with overtime.
The department spent $13.1 million in overtime pay in the first seven months of last year, far more than any other division, according to a San Antonio Express-News analysis of city data.
The Police Department, with 2,700 full-time employees compared to the Fire Department's 1,621, was the next closest at $9.4 million.
The analysis also showed the racial and ethnic makeup of city government mirrors San Antonio at large, including a drop-off of minorities and women when it comes to higher-paying positions.
Among the newspaper's other findings:
Pay ranged from $275,000 for City Manager Sheryl Sculley to $18,200 for a public health aide. The council recently voted ... Read the full article at the San Antonio Express-News - Online.
NewPresentation from the 2010 Mid-Year Economic Update |
Contact
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For more information about the SABÉR Research Institute, or to contract a research report, please contact: Steve Nivin, Ph.D., Director and Chief Economist (210) 431-2058 |
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