West Georgia is heading out of the recession, but there’s still many economic problems remaining, according to Dr. William “Joey” Smith, University of West Georgia economics professor.

Smith was the guest speaker at the Tuesday GreyStone Power Luncheon of the Douglas County Chamber of Commerce at the Douglasville Downtown Conference Center.

“The pain ain’t over yet,” Smith said. “We’re still at the bottom. Residential real estate is still a huge problem and commercial real estate is not far behind.”

He said foreclosure numbers aren’t getting any better, and the 2009 housing permit numbers were lower than 2008. He noted Douglas County is near the top of the five-county region with one in 40 properties in foreclosure.

Douglas County also had the largest unemployment figures in the West Georgia region last year, in both numbers and percentage. The unemployment level reached 11.4 percent during 2009, but had declined to 11.0 percent by the end of the year.

“Douglas County lost 4,082 jobs from the second quarter of 2008 to the second quarter of 2009,” Smith said. “These included manufacturing (991), retail (827), construction (746) and temp workers (1,066). Healthcare was the only one growing.”

However, Smith said the good news is that economic indicators are showing the beginning of an economic upturn.

“We’re just now seeing optimism in the consumer market,” he said. He said fear levels peaked in October 2008 and over the last few months are down to a reasonable level.

He said initial unemployment claims peaked in September in West Georgia and are heading downward, which is one of the leading economic indicators.

Speaking specifically on Douglas County, Smith said the areas of concern remain in the slowdown of retail trade and the loss of jobs.

On the optimistic side, he said the eastern part of Douglas County, near Thornton Road, remains a good warehousing and distribution center, with quick access the interstate highway system and the Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson Airport.

“The local reservoir is full,” he said, adding that water supply has a big effect on industrial growth.

Smith said damage from the housing industry is going to continue to do harm, including its effect on the region’s tax base. The downward trend in property valuation means lower tax revenues and necessity to cut governmental services.

Smith, a well-known regional economist, teaches economics at the University of West Georgia (UWG) in Carrollton. He received his B.S. degree in economics from UWG and his M.A. and Ph.D. degrees in economics from Georgia State University.