By Anthony Silva |Staff Writer|
Manufacturing jobs in the Inland Empire (I.E.) continue to rise and local businesses feel optimistic about the economy, according to a report by the CSUSB Institute of Applied Research.
Dr. Barbara Sirotnik, the Director of the Institute, believes that the information in the monthly report is important to many people living in the I.E.
“There are very few Inland Empire specific economic indicators. So policy makers throughout the Inland Empire can benefit from the monthly report,” wrote Sirotnik in an e-mail.
Sirotnik helped create the Inland Empire Report of Business, which is created monthly.
The report stated that the Purchasing Managers Index (PMI), a measure that is closely watched by economists, rose to 52.6 percent in October.
The PMI is an index that measures a business’s production, new orders, employment and inventory levels.
The institute reported that a PMI of 50 percent indicates stability within the economy. Any number higher than 50 percent means the economy is growing.
“Each month we send a survey to over 60 purchasing managers in San Bernardino and Riverside counties. The survey asks managers to indicate whether various production factors have increased since the previous month,” stated Sirotnik.
Bud Weisbart from AR Tech, a fabrics company in Fontana, spoke to The Sun about his company’s growth.
“At this point our backlog has become very robust. We’ll be very healthy through the end of this year,” said Weisbart.
The Institute’s report stated that production rose 64.8 percent in October, an increase from 51.5 percent in the previous month.
The production increase has resulted in more optimism about the economy in the I.E.
Close to one third of the managers surveyed now think the economy will be stronger at the end of the year, which has increased from last month.
According to the Institute’s report, 31 percent of purchasing managers believed the economy would be weaker at the end of the year while a month later, that number decreased to 15 percent.
Students appear to have positive feelings towards the Institute’s work.
“I didn’t know that this kind of information was available and that it came from our school. I’ll definitely start keeping an eye out for this report every month,” said student Natalie Avalos.
Few factors will play a significant role in the I.E.’s economic recovery such as land development and higher education to provide workforce training and affordable housing.
“The Inland Empire’s economy has been volatile as the region comes out of the recession. Our data indicates slow and steady growth so it appears that the economy will continue to grow at least over the next few months,” added Sirotnik.
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