Obtaining data on initial claims for unemployment insurance continues to take longer than in the past. Currently, it takes at least seven weeks after the end of a month to get those figures for San Diego County. To make the Index release more timely, the initial claims will now be estimated using similar data from the national economy. When the actual number of initial claims is released, the estimated figure will be revised accordingly. With this change in methodology, the USD Index of Leading Economic Indicators can now be released three to four weeks after the end of a month. So look for the next release (for April) sometime before the end of May.

	Index of Leading Economic Indicators  The index for San Diego County that includes the components listed below (March)  Source: University of San Diego	- 0.4 %
	Building Permits  Residential units authorized by building permits in San Diego County (March)  Source: Construction Industry Research Board	+ 0.70%
	Unemployment Insurance  Initial claims for unemployment insurance in San Diego County, inverted (March)  Source: Employment Development Department	- 0.36%
	Stock Prices  San Diego Stock Exchange Index (March)  Source: San Diego Daily Transcript	- 0.43%
	Consumer Confidence  An index of consumer confidence in San Diego County (March)  Source: San Diego Union-Tribune	- 1.30%
	Help Wanted Advertising  An index of help wanted advertising in the San Diego Union-Tribune (March)  Source: San Diego Union-Tribune	- 0.01%
	National Economy  Index of Leading Economic Indicators (March)  Source: The Conference Board	- 0.83%

Highlights: Residential units authorized by building permits were up 8.7% in the first quarter of 2005 compared to the same period in 2004. This was due to a huge increase (nearly 40%) in multifamily units authorized. Single-family units authorized, on the other hand, were down almost 18% in the quarter. . . The labor market variables are mixed, although there has not been a lot of movement in either direction. Initial claims for unemployment insurance have gradually been increasing for the last four months, which is a negative for the Index. Help wanted advertising was virtually unchanged for the last two months, although with a slight negative bias. The net result was that the local unemployment rate was 4.3% in March. Changes in the way the state calculates the local unemployment rate have led to the local figure being nearly a full percentage point higher than what was previously thought for the last few years. . . Local stock prices dropped more than 9% in the first quarter, reflecting the weakness in lower capitalization stocks during that period. While the Standard & Poor's 500 Index fell 2.6% during the quarter, the Nasdaq Composite Index was off more than 8%. . . After rising for 17 straight months, consumer confidence dropped in each of the first three months of 2005, with March's decline particularly dramatic. . . The outlook for the national economy remains somewhat uncertain. The national Index of Leading Economic Indicators was down for two of the first three months of 2005. While a recession is not expected, the national economy is in a sluggish stage, with initial figures for first quarter GDP growth coming in at a lower than expected 3.1%.

The values for the Index of Leading Economic Indicators for San Diego County for the last year are given below: