STOCKTON – Construction jobs will grow at a “furious” rate in the region, continuing to fuel hopes that economic recovery, while slow, will continue.

According to the California and Metro Forecast for January conducted by the Business Forecasting Center of the University of the Pacific’s Eberhardt School of Business, “The Stockton (area) continued job losses in 2011, but will make a strong return to job growth in 2012 with a 2 percent increase. Total non-farm employment began increasing in the second half of 2011 and will strengthen further in 2012. The construction and mining sector is anticipated to begin adding jobs at a furious 11.8 percent pace in 2012 and 10 percent in 2013. The education and health services, leisure and hospitality, and trade, transportation, and utilities sectors will lead job growth in 2012 and 2013. We anticipate strong job growth of 2.2 percent per year over the next five years.”

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