SCVEDC Hosts Annual Economic Outlook Forecast

SCVEDC Hosts Annual Economic Outlook Forecast

Even though economist Dr. Mark Schniepp of California Economic Forecast said to expect a “boring economy” in 2019, SCVEDC’s annual Economic Outlook was anything but. With tickets selling out nearly five weeks before the event date, Holly Schroeder, President & CEO of SCVEDC gave a warm welcome to over 400 attendees that crowded into the ballroom at the Hyatt Regency Valencia. 

 "This annual economic forecast is designed to equip you as business leaders with the information you need to guide your companies into the future. You will learn about the current state of and projections for the SCV economy, including our anticipated growth in jobs and population. You will also hear in detail from the leaders who are shaping that growth about what’s in store for our region, as well as trends affecting community development and workplaces," Schroeder said.

Lewis Horne of CBRE, Ravi Rajan of CalArts, and Emile Haddad of FivePoint gave insight about the future of how and where we will work and live, the roll of the arts in placemaking, and the need to modernize and transform education to shape the future workforce. Notably, something they all touched on is the growing urgency for more housing. To that end, Emile Haddad gave a sneak-peek of how FivePoint’s new development in the SCV, Newhall Ranch, will help address those issues.

Dr. Mark Schniepp gave the economic outlook for the SCV economy as well as the California and US economies. According to Dr. Schniepp, business leaders can remain optimistic for the time being, but he said to expect a recession sometime early in the next decade. However, this year we can anticipate an economy with relative stability similar to 2018. While job creation continues in healthcare, professional services, management, and manufacturing sectors, our economy is getting the most stimulus from new development – both housing and commercial and industrial.

Dr. Schniepp said that residents of the Santa Clarita Valley will continue to see increases in population, salaries and home values in the next year. The acceleration of homebuilding in our region will not only grow our population, but also increase the demand for goods and services, driving economic growth.

This is a very exciting time in the Santa Clarita Valley; the SCV has recovered all the jobs that were lost during the Great Recession a decade ago. We are at record high employment and record high population, but we have not yet hit our limit. We are in an era of significant change, innovation and opportunities which will continue to attract more residents and importantly, more companies that provide high-quality, high-paying jobs to our region.

The Santa Clarita Valley Economic Development Corporation (SCVEDC) is a unique private / public partnership representing the united effort of regional industry and government leaders. The SCVEDC utilizes an integrated approach to attracting, retaining and expanding a diversity of businesses in the Santa Clarita Valley, especially those in key industry clusters, by offering competitive business services and other resources.