SOUTH ATLANTIC

While Atlanta still suffers and some rural parts of this market are still singing the blues over the crippling loss of manufacturing jobs in the textile, furniture, woodworking and related businesses, with its diverse economic base, healthy government sector and Sunbelt economics, this is still by many measures one of the healthier economic regions in the United States. As measured by the building permits per 1,000 housing starts, five of the 10 fastest-growing housing markets are in Florida: Fort Myers-Cape Coral, Naples, Daytona Beach, Sarasota-Bradenton and Orlando. Other happy economic news includes the $120-million port expansion in Savannah, Ga., which is expected to create 10,800 jobs, and the low office vacancy rates in the nation's capital.

ELECTRICAL WHOLESALERS' SALES
(in millions of dollars)EW Estimates Final
1999 Final
2000 Final
2001 Final
2002 Forecast
2003 Forecast
2004 South Atlantic 11,455.5 11,689.1 11,450.6 11,503.6 11,914.0 12,646.1 Delaware 211.2 215.5 211.1 212.1 219.6 233.1 D.C. 105.2 107.3 105.1 105.6 109.4 116.1 Florida 4,166.6 4,251.6 4,164.9 4,184.1 4,333.4 4,599.7 Georgia 2,234.2 2,279.8 2,233.3 2,243.6 2,323.6 2,466.4 Maryland 919.1 937.8 918.7 922.9 955.8 1,014.6 North Carolina 1,945.8 1,985.5 1,945.0 1,954.0 2,023.7 2,148.1 South Carolina 563.4 574.9 563.2 565.8 586.0 622.0 Virginia 1,095.7 1,118.0 1,095.2 1,100.3 1,139.5 1,209.6 West Virginia 214.3 218.6 214.2 215.2 222.8 236.5 EMPLOYMENT STATISTICSActualin thousands EC M C G South Atlantic 152,840^ 2,282.6 13,109.1 3,938.9 Delaware 2,882* 34.6 249.4 52.8 Dover MSA 403* 3.9 27.5 15.2 Wilmington PMSA 2,302* 22.8 192.9 39.8 District of Columbia 966* 2.8 324.4 238.4 Washington, DC PMSA 18,789* 73.1 1,563.1 615.6 Florida 53,844* 388.6 4,326.9 991.8 Daytona Beach MSA 1,266* 10.4 104.3 23.4 Fort Lauderdale PMSA 5,950* 32.2 425.4 95.4 Fort Myers-Cape Coral MSA 2,248* 6.0 107.3 26.1 Gainesville MSA 510* 4.2 59.5 38.9 Jacksonville MSA 4,626* 33.9 338.8 65.3 Lakeland-Winter Haven MSA 1,198* 15.9 101.3 25.0 Melbourne-Titusville-Palm Bay MSA 1,327* 22.9 109.9 26.3 Miami-Hialeah 5,898* 56.7 563.0 141.9 Orlando MSA 7,550* 40.6 579.1 93.2 Pensacola MSA 1,484* 6.9 87.2 26.2 Sarasota MSA 1,358* 19.0 188.8 23.7 Tallahassee MSA 536* 3.5 69.7 57.5 Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater MSA 9,294* 72.7 776.1 138.4 West Palm Beach-Boca Raton MSA 4,494* 22.8 346.4 55.3 Georgia 28,453 452.0 1,953.8 602.4 Albany MSA 788* 7.4 26.8 11.0 Athens MSA 383* 8.8 33.0 20.8 Atlanta MSA 18,615 162.7 1,189.7 270.4 Augusta MSA 875* 24.6 103.2 38.4 Columbus MSA 1,251* 13.7 59.0 19.6 Macon MSA 956* 15.9 76.5 32.9 Savannah MSA 1,197* 13.6 71.9 19.3 Maryland 18,881* 152.8 1,391.2 417.4 Baltimore PMSA 9,203* 82.6 713.6 208.4 Baltimore City NA 22.2 217.3 83.3 Suburban Maryland-D.C. NA 37.9 512.1 165.4 North Carolina 28,708 606.4 1,819.4 586.4 Asheville MSA 1,042* 14.4 59.1 14.0 Charlotte-Gastonia-Rock Hill MSA 5,876* 107.6 403.0 92.7 Greensboro-Winston-Salem MSA 4,665* 122.6 308.9 65.7 Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill MSA 5,198* 69.1 338.9 130.5 South Carolina 11,174 275.0 859.3 296.5 Charleston MSA 2,741* 18.3 135.9 48.8 Columbia MSA 2,059* 23.1 147.9 71.3 Greenville-Spartanburg MSA 4,188* 96.5 213.7 55.4 Virginia 21,994 304.4 1,832.0 615.6 Bristol 134* 8.4 19.2 5.5 Charlottesville MSA 598* 4.8 41.4 24.9 Danville MSA 122* 10.8 20.3 6.4 Lynchburg MSA 631* 17.9 47.6 12.9 Norfolk-Virginia Beach-Newport News MSA 3,700* 58.9 386.5 146.8 Northern Virginia 7,248* 28.8 699.1 194.9 Richmond-Petersburg MSA 3,462* 46.4 300.3 106.3 Roanoke MSA 842* 16.0 76.1 16.5 West Virginia 2,938 66.0 352.7 137.6 Charleston MSA 705* 8.1 67.1 24.5 Huntington-Ashland MSA 529* 10.9 66.4 18.9 Parkersburg-Marietta MSA 164* 10.3 36.4 9.4 Wheeling MSA 217* 5.1 37.0 9.8