Highlights of the review include:
– Last year’s increase in the local labor force was the first since 2012. The local economy’s labor force had declined by nearly 20,000, or 14 percent, from 2012 to 2017.
– Housing prices in the Atlantic City metropolitan area, which stabilized in 2017, increased by almost 7 percent in 2018. In October 2018, the six-month moving average of housing permits climbed to 104, a level not seen since early 2007.
– The future of internet gambling and sports wagering competition from neighboring states will likely not provide strong competition to New Jersey in 2019, but legislation in those states will likely generate new competition by 2020.
– The real-estate/rental economy of the Ocean City metropolitan area will be heavily dependent on interest rates and consumer optimism. Ocean City home prices rose 3.6 percent in 2018.
– An analysis of Stockton Atlantic City’s long-term impact on the city’s economy. The university’s largest long-term impact will like be on educational opportunities.