Vinod Agarwal
Fifteen months after live events were forced to go virtual by the COVID-19 pandemic, Old Dominion University's economic forecasting team is making its in-person re-emergence.
The midyear forecast by ODU's Dragas Center for Economic Analysis and Policy will be delivered at 7:30 a.m. June 17 at the Newport News Marriott at City Center, hosted by the Virginia Peninsula Chamber of Commerce.
More information, plus individual tickets and sponsorship packages, can be found on the Peninsula Chamber event WEBSITE.
The national and regional forecasts are being prepared by Robert M. McNab, director of the Dragas Center, and Vinod Agarwal, chair of ODU's Economic Forecasting Projects. The ODU economists' presentations for the past year have chronicled the wild gyrations in our economy and disruption to life in the region caused by the pandemic.
For the first time since March 2020, COVID-19 infections, hospitalizations and deaths are declining in all 50 states. With more than half of Americans having received at least one vaccination, and three in four American over the age of 65 fully vaccinated, the economic recovery from the pandemic has arrived.
However, the economy has changed. Millions remain outside the workforce and supply chains are still constrained from the shocks of the last year. As prices rise and workers demand higher wages, can economic growth be sustained in the face of increasing inflation? Will interest rates rise or will price increases moderate later in the year?
These questions and more will be examined in the national and Virginia economic forecasts.
At the regional level, latest data indicate a stagnant job market. The hotel industry was devastated by the pandemic, especially in the Williamsburg market. The pace of recovery in this industry will be discussed. The residential housing market appears to have escaped the brutal impacts of COVID-19. The presentation will also examine the impact of the pandemic on movement of cargo at the port of Virginia. What might the future look like for the Hampton Roads economy after COVID-19?
ODU's Dragas Center for Economic Analysis and Policy has for more than 20 years been an independent explainer and forecaster of economic data in Hampton Roads, the state and nationally. Researchers at the Dragas Center produce the influential State of the Region and State of the Commonwealth reports, which chronicle life in Hampton Roads and Virginia across a range of economic and quality-of-life factors.
For more information about the mid-year economic forecast, or other Dragas Center initiatives, see the Dragas Center Website.
