NORFOLK, Va. — 2020 started off looking so promising. The future was bright.
"We were optimistic, We were looking forward to robust growth in the region faster than the nation, because of increases in defense spending, because of increases and tourism," said Old Dominion University Economics Professor Bob McNab.
Then, COVID-19 arrived.
"We all know that with the onset of the pandemic and social distancing measures, economic activity severely plummeted in the region, in the state and in the nation," McNab explained.
McNab presented ODU's Dragas School for Economic Analysis and Policy State of the Region report Tuesday to the Hampton Roads Chamber.
He said the coronavirus outbreak has completely overshadowed everything in the economy since mid-March.
"COVID-19 is the underlying theme and the underlying challenge we are facing as a region, as a nation, as a globe," he said. "This is a challenge, but, it's a challenge that we as a region and as a state have faced successfully so far."
McNab noted that while unemployment did spike from 3% to 12% in April, it has now gone back down to 7.4%.
"We go from approximately 837,000 reporting they were gainfully employed in February to 730,000 by April," McNab said. "That is historic in terms of contraction. That is 100,000 people reporting they were not employed. Since then, we've seen a rebound."
McNab highlighted some bright spots.
He said in Hampton Roads, tourism, hotels and hospitality and real estate have all begun to come back,.
He pointed to the fact that median sales prices for houses have gone up by nearly $30,000 since January, as one example.
And he talked about military spending, with the defense budget forecast to increase, from $705 billion in the current fiscal year to $768 billion by fiscal year 2025.
All in all, the State of the Region seems to be a true case of good news-bad news with a fair dose of both.
"This has truly been a year to remember," he said. "And while it has been challenging, in challenge, there is opportunity."