Raha: “Recovery will be slow” but “There are some signs this will improve.”

Watch TVW live now to hear Dr. Arun Raha talk about the state of the economy. This is the pre-forecast meeting, where the state’s top economists discuss conditions.

Raha said things are improving, and cited some examples. But: “All is not well with the financial sector,” Raha said.

Watch now.

Update: Raha said nonresidential construction is unlikely to rebound in this biennia. He says the recovery will be slow, but we will recover.

“So what does all this mean for our revenues? What we’ve known all along — the consumer is king. And right now consumer spending is bumping along the bottom,” he said, adding that “there are some signs this will improve. “Home prices are likely to improve slowly.”

He said back-to-school numbers were weak, but there’s some sign that retailers didn’t stock much merchandise, meaning some items are on back-order.

The revenue forecast is in two weeks.That’s when they’ll give detailed numbers on predicted tax collections.