There was good economic news out of Richmond Tuesday morning as Governor Glenn Youngkin’s Secretary of Finance updated Virginia’s legislature.
“We have still continued confidence on where we stand with the Virginia Economy,” said Finance Secretary Stephen Cummings, speaking before a House Appropriations Committee meeting. He was describing -in arguably less exciting terms- that the Commonwealth is thriving despite a few hiccups.
According to Cummings, Virginia's GDP grew at 1.6 percent and consumption remained “healthy.” That existing "healthy economy" led to the half a billion-dollar surplus that allowed for so much compromise in budget debates earlier this month.
See Tuesday's presentation here.
It wasn’t all good news, however, as net exports from business inventories and job growth both slowed. Cummings described the job growth as a return to pre pandemic levels with both temporary employment and job openings trending down. But that makes good news for current employees:
“In the event the world does slow down, remembering how hard it was to get good employees, people are actually being more protective of the people they already have in place,” Cummings said.
The secretary’s breakdown left a cautiously optimistic smile on House Appropriations chair Luke Torian’s face.
“We’re still in a good position, we’ve just got to be mindful of what’s happening the remainder of this year and next year,” the ranking Democrat told Radio IQ.
"We're in a good posture," Delegate Terry Austin, the committee's ranking Republican, said. He pointed to the state's rainy-day fund, increasing revenues and the possibility of buying debt back in the future as other high points.
"The chairman and I are in agreement," he told Radio IQ. "We're on a really good path forward."
Other standout bad news includes Virginia’s slowing home sales, down over 7% from a year ago with the median price increasing by 7% to just under $400,000.
This report, provided by Virginia Public Radio, was made possible with support from the Virginia Education Association.
