Two sworn in to West Wyoming Fire Department

web1_2015-10-13_at_13.54.40_from_teller-3_on_Great-Bend-428.jpg

State police seeking suspect in Susquehanna County bank robbery

<p>LEHMAN TWP. &#8211; The region that includes Luzerne County is experiencing a &#8220;slow and steady pace of recovery&#8221; from the great recession that officially ended more than five years ago, Gary Wagner, a regional economic adviser with the Philadelphia Federal Reserve Bank, said Thursday.</p><p>Addressing the second annual Economic Summit presented by the Back Mountain Economic Development Council, Wagner said the pace may change for the better.</p><p>&#8220;Leading economic indicators point to more accelerated growth in the next six months,&#8221; Wagner said, although in the important housing sector, home price growth is lagging and uneven compared to state and national rates.</p><p>Neither the state nor the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre metropolitan area were hit as hard by the recession as much of the United States, largely because there was less of a bubble in housing prices and overbuilding, Wagner said.</p><p>So it&#8217;s understandable, he said, that both the state and region are a little behind in recovery, with Pennsylvania ranking 29th in the percentage of jobs gained compared to losses in the recession.</p><p>In this region, slightly more than the number of jobs lost in the recession have now been added. &#8220;Most of Northeastern and Central Pennsylvania is doing very well,&#8221; he said.</p><p>To put the current situation in perspective, Wagner said job loss in the great recession was about twice that seen in any previous slowdown since 1948.</p><p><strong>Housing, manufacturing</strong></p><p>Home prices, though, are lagging. While the national average selling price of single family homes including condominiums stands 5.3 percent below pre-recession levels, locally it&#8217;s down 6.3 percent, even though the price decline during the recession was less.</p><p>&#8220;It&#8217;s been tracking flat here the last three to four years,&#8221; Wagner said. In contrast, prices in the North Central part of the state are above pre-recession levels, &#8220;driven by the Marcellus Shale boom,&#8221; a reflection of rapid job growth.</p><p>Manufacturing, considered to pay higher salaries, continues to shed jobs, which state Rep. Karen Boback said is understandable as more tasks are automated.</p><p>Employers, she said, are &#8220;looking for ways to cut and technology is taking over.&#8221;</p><p>Wagner agreed, and pointed out that manufacturing output is on the rise, but noted, &#8220;we&#8217;re doing it with fewer people.&#8221;</p><p>That improvement in productivity may turn the employment picture around, said Dale Parmenteri, who co-owned Balester Optical in Wilkes-Barre and now works for NEPIRC, an agency that advises manufacturers. Speaking after the meeting, Parmenteri said he&#8217;s very optimistic about manufacturing here and nationwide &#8220;because more manufacturers are adopting technology, becoming more efficient and competitive.&#8221;</p><p>By 2017, he said, there will be no advantage to manufacture in China or Southeast Asia, particularly for durable goods. The problem here, he said, is a shortage of qualified employees, in part because of an overemphasis on obtaining four-year college degrees instead of technical training.</p><p><strong>Rate hikes, energy</strong></p><p>Wagner offered his personal opinion on a possible Fed rate hike, and while declining to predict when that will happen, said, &#8220;once they start to raise interest rates, if inflation stays in check they will raise rates very slowly.&#8221;</p><p>Low energy prices and sluggish wage growth have been restraining factors for the Fed, he said.</p><p>Responding to a question from Back Mountain Chamber president Jim Reino, who works for UGI Energy Services, Wagner said &#8220;the large drop has stopped,&#8221; noting that half of the price volatility was due to speculation, not supply/demand factors.</p><p>Now, &#8220;we would expect prices to rise, not fall,&#8221; Wagner said.</p><p>Asked if increasing energy prices could reduce consumers&#8217; ability to spend on other things, Wagner first said that lower prices had the effect of a $1,000 per-family tax cut, but that the industry has cut back investment and laid off workers. That shift will reverse with higher prices, he said.</p><p>Wagner thinks the debt ceiling will be raised, although not before some drama as opponents angle for advantage. If it is not, &#8220;immediately government spending would have to shrink,&#8221; he said. The result would be default if that was done by not paying holders of U.S. Treasury debt, or spending could be reduced on programs such as veterans benefits, he said.</p><style>
.neFileBlock {
	margin-bottom: 20px;
}
.neFileBlock p {
	margin: 0px 0px 0px 0px;
}
.neFileBlock .neFile {
	border-bottom: 1px dotted #aaa;
	padding-bottom: 5px;
	padding-top: 10px;
}
.neFileBlock .neCaption {
	font-size: 85%;
}
</style>
<div class='neFileBlock'>
<div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/web1_Wagner_Gary.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Wagner </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/web1_Wagner_Gary.jpg</photo0><caption0>Wagner </caption0><photoCredit0></photoCredit0></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Ron Bartizek</p><p>For Times Leader</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach Ron Bartizek by calling 570-991-6114.</p></shirttailMeta></div>

NEPA’s economy improving slowly, Fed analyst says