Index of Leading Economic Indicators  The index for San Diego County that includes the components listed below (June)  Source: University of San Diego	+ 0.0 %
	Building Permits  Residential units authorized by building permits in San Diego County (June)  Source: Construction Industry Research Board	- 0.74%
	Unemployment Insurance  Initial claims for unemployment insurance in San Diego County, inverted (June)  Source: Employment Development Department	+ 0.84%
	Stock Prices  San Diego Stock Exchange Index (June)  Source: San Diego Daily Transcript	+ 0.55%
	Consumer Confidence  An index of consumer confidence in San Diego County (June)  Source: San Diego Union-Tribune	- 1.76%
	Help Wanted Advertising  An index of help wanted advertising in the San Diego Union-Tribune (June)  Source: San Diego Union-Tribune	- 0.63%
	National Economy  Index of Leading Economic Indicators (June)  Source: The Conference Board	+ 1.67%

June's unchanged reading broke a string of five consecutive decreases in the USD Index of Leading Economic Indicators.  Revisions in the national Index of Leading Economic Indicators (see below) resulted in the magnitudes of the previously reported declines being less than what was initially indicated.  While the outlook for the local economy is not strong, it is not as negative as was thought in recent months.  The forecast is for continued slow to moderate growth for the rest of 2005.

Highlights: Residential units authorized by building permits again slipped to the downside in June. For the first half of 2005, residential units authorized were down 2% compared to the same period in 2004.  While multifamily units authorized were up nearly 11% in the first half, single family units authorized were down more than 11% during the period. . . The labor market variables are mixed.  While initial claims for unemployment insurance are positive, help wanted advertising continues to drop.  So while job loss is relatively low, hiring has not picked up to a significant degree.  For seasonal reasons (end of the school year), the unemployment rate in San Diego increased to 4.4% in June from 3.8% in May. . . Consumer confidence continues to decline.  Compared to the same point in 2004, consumer confidence is down nearly 11%.  This remains a concern, as consumer spending is typically two-thirds of economic activity. . . The increase in local stock prices in June bucked the trend in the national markets, which saw the Standard and Poor's down a tiny amount and the Nasdaq Composite Index off roughly a half of a percent during the month. . . The national Index of Leading Economic Indicators registered its sharpest increase of the year.  For June, the keeper of the national index, The Conference Board, announced changes in the methodology used to calculate the index.  The result is that the outlook for the national economy is more positive than what was indicated previously, with a corresponding positive impact on the local index.

The Index of Leading Economic Indicators for San Diego County stood at 142.0 in June, unchanged from the same revised reading in May.  Revisions in initial claims for unemployment insurance and and the national Index of Leading Economic Indicators caused the previously reported change of -0.5% in May to be revised to -0.1%.  Please visit the Index of Leading Economic Indicators Website at the address below to get the values for the revised components.  The values for the Index of Leading Economic Indicators for San Diego County for the last year are given below: