RI's 2009 economic forecast

BOSTON, (WPRI) - Bryant University economic professor Edinaldo Tebaldi and Edward Mazze, Professor of Business Administration at the University of Rhode Island, presented Rhode Island's economic forecast Thursday to the New England Economic Partnership conference in Boston. Here are some of the findings in the report:

HOUSING

• The median price of a R.I. home in 2009 is expected to be $230,500, down from $263,300 in 2008.
• The number of housing permits expected for 2009 is 806, down 23.5 percent from 2008.

EMPLOYMENT

• As one of the first states to enter a recession, Rhode Island probably will be among the last to experience growth in employment, perhaps by Q2 in 2010.
• Employment in the state will have declined from 493,000 in 2007 to 466,600 in 2010.
• The economic downturn negatively affected employment in all industries in 2008 and will cause additional job losses in all sectors of the R.I. economy except for education and health services.

OTHER

• Rhode Islands real GDP will have declined 1.5 percent by the end of 2008.
• It will grow just 0.2 percent in 2009 and by 5.4 percent in 2010.
• State budget cuts will add to the decline of both household spending and investments in the state.