13 June, 2011, BizJournals.com
By: Joe Cogliano
Manufacturing and the defense industry will boost the Dayton-area economy during the second half of 2011, according to the latest Regional Economic Report from Wright State University. If accurate, the report's fourth quarter forecast of 374,500 workers would mark the highest employment number since the first quarter of 2009. On the strength of global conditions, manufacturers in the region are expected to continue hiring while public and private sector employment will be bolstered as missions coming to Wright-Patterson Air Force Base as part of the Base Realignment and Closure process reach full speed, said Thomas Traynor, an economics professor at Wright State and author of the report. Traynor said health care and the leisure industry — which includes restaurants and hotels — are also most likely to see seasonally adjusted growth by the end of the year.
