The city of Flagstaff just wrapped up two days of a budget retreat. Staff still faces tough decisions about budget cuts in the upcoming fiscal year. However, one positive sign of long term recovery may be reflected in the latest report of taxable sales. City of Flagstaff taxable business activity for the month of November 2010 shows an increase of 6.9% over November of 2009. Construction is up 17.7%. Auto sales are up 42.8. BBB is slightly down by 0.2%. General Merchandise … [Read more...] about Sign of Changing Economy?
Kevin Burke
Job Creation in Northern Arizona Moderate
National Association of Realtors chief economist Lawrence Yun continues to point to jobs as the key to real estate recovery. “Given the rock-bottom mortgage interest rates and historically high housing affordability conditions, the pace of a sales recovery could pick up quickly, provided the economy consistently adds jobs,” he said last month. “What we clearly need is job creation. The job creation is occurring but at a very slow pace.” On the other hand, according to the recent Challenger … [Read more...] about Job Creation in Northern Arizona Moderate
Horizon’s Departure Negatively Impacting Businesses
If you haven’t heard, Horizon Air is departing from Flagstaff, but this time it is for good. Questions abound, including whether the airline’s exit from Flagstaff and Prescott will affect area businesses. Locals say yes, but maybe not to a huge degree. Still, several area company representatives say they enjoy jumping on a short flight from Flagstaff to Los Angeles. Without that option, many will choose to drive to Phoenix to catch a flight out of Sky Harbor, or other … [Read more...] about Horizon’s Departure Negatively Impacting Businesses
