South Atlantic

The many different metropolitan areas in this region are all having different experiences in this recession. Washington, D.C., and its suburbs got whacked by the high-tech debacle, but they can always depend on the U.S. government to provide a steady source of employment and market demand for office space.

Atlanta remains among the nation's leaders in new home construction, but the area's 18.3 percent office vacancy rate is the highest the area has seen in 10 years.

Florida's economy will benefit from the fact that more people are expected to move into Florida in the next five years than any other state except California, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

ELECTRICAL WHOLESALERS' SALES
(in millions of dollars) EW Estimates Final 1998 Final 1999 Final 2000 Final 2001 Forecast 2002 Forecast 2003 South Atlantic 10,676.0 11,455.5 11,689.1 11,450.6 11,425.2 12,319.2 Delaware 197.7 211.2 215.5 211.1 210.6 227.1 D.C. 99.2 105.2 107.3 105.1 104.9 113.1 Florida 3,811.4 4,166.6 4,251.6 4,164.9 4,155.6 4,480.8 Georgia 2,045.9 2,234.2 2,279.8 2,233.3 2,228.3 2,402.7 Maryland 868.4 919.1 937.8 918.7 916.6 988.4 North Carolina 1,854.2 1,945.8 1,985.5 1,945.0 1,940.7 2,092.6 South Carolina 535.8 563.4 574.9 563.2 561.9 605.9 Virginia 1,052.1 1,095.7 1,118.0 1,095.2 1,092.8 1,178.3 West Virginia 201.3 214.3 218.6 214.2 213.7 230.4 EMPLOYMENT STATISTICSActual ECin thousands M F/S/RT G South Atlantic 171,098 2,677.3 14,005.6 4,028.3 Delaware 2,882 55.2 254.3 56.0 Dover MSA 403 6.1 28.5 15.6 Wilmington-Newark PMSA 2,302 41.1 199.9 42.5 District of Columbia 966 11.0 385.8 222.4 Washington, DC PMSA 18,789 97.9 1,727.6 614.1 Florida 53,844 447.4 4,583.3 985.1 Daytona Beach MSA 1,266 12.8 102.0 22.6 Fort Lauderdale PMSA 5,950 37.3 442.9 98.4 Fort Myers-Cape Coral MSA 2,248 7.1 110.4 25.6 Gainesville MSA 510 4.5 66.9 38.0 Jacksonville MSA 4,626 38.2 370.8 63.4 Lakeland-Winter Haven MSA 1,198 17.7 106.0 24.0 Melbourne-Titusville-Palm Bay MSA 1,327 23.3 116.0 25.6 Miami PMSA 5,898 61.0 617.6 153.7 Orlando MSA 7,550 52.8 616.3 88.5 Pensacola MSA 1,484 8.6 93.1 27.2 Sarasota-Bradenton MSA 1,358 21.3 207.8 22.9 Tallahassee MSA 536 4.4 83.6 56.7 Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater MSA 9,294 84.5 820.9 140.1 West Palm Beach-Boca Raton MSA 4,494 26.4 349.8 54.2 Georgia 28,164 541.8 2,049.1 607.5 Albany MSA 788 7.6 27.1 11.5 Athens MSA 383 9.8 34.6 21.5 Atlanta MSA 18,778 211.8 1,211.7 274.0 Augusta-Aiken MSA 875 27.2 96.5 40.4 Columbus MSA 1,251 19.3 66.4 21.5 Macon MSA 956 20.0 77.5 34.1 Savannah MSA 1,197 15.9 80.0 20.3 Maryland 18,881 172.1 1,455.5 461.7 Baltimore PMSA 9,203 95.3 742.8 220.8 Baltimore City NA 25.9 241.0 85.8 Suburban Maryland-D.C. (Calvert, Charles, Frederick, Montgomery and Prince George's Counties) NA 41.2 548.5 185.8 North Carolina 29,649 701.3 1,962.2 608.6 Asheville MSA 1,042 16.0 63.9 15.4 Charlotte-Gastonia-Rock Hill MSA 5,876 123.7 445.3 103.9 Greensboro-High Point-Winston-Salem MSA 4,665 146.4 331.7 66.8 Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill MSA 5,198 82.1 383.9 124.7 South Carolina 11,282 315.6 926.3 310.9 Charleston-North Charleston MSA 2,741 21.6 137.9 48.9 Columbia MSA 2,059 28.9 148.5 72.2 Greenville-Spartanburg-Anderson MSA 4,188 116.8 223.6 64.5 Virginia 22,581 359.2 1,993.1 635.8 Bristol 134 8.2 20.3 6.2 Charlottesville MSA 598 5.9 44.4 28.6 Danville MSA 122 13.2 20.7 6.4 Lynchburg MSA 631 22.0 49.9 13.1 Norfolk-Virginia Beach-Newport News MSA 3,700 68.9 399.4 148.7 Northern Virginia 7,248 39.5 751.1 194.7 Richmond-Petersburg MSA 3,462 55.8 306.1 106.2 Roanoke MSA 842 17.2 83.1 18.2 West Virginia 2,890 73.7 396.0 140.3 Charleston MSA 705 8.8 76.6 24.9 Huntington-Ashland MSA 529 12.9 69.8 20.9 Parkersburg-Marietta MSA 164 11.3 39.0 9.9 Wheeling MSA 217 5.8 41.2 10.5