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

Smith was the guest speaker at a recent Douglas County Chamber of Commerce luncheon 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 that Paulding County foreclosures doubled from 2.5 percent in the third quarter of 2008 to 5 percent in the third quarter of 2009.

The area unemployment level reached 11.4 percent during 2009 but had declined to 11.0 percent by the end of the year.

“Paulding County lost 1,002 jobs in 2009, mainly in construction and good production,” Smith said. “Recreation had the largest job increase in the count.”

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 of Paulding County, Smith said the areas of concern remain in foreclosures and the small job base for its population size.

On the optimistic side, he said the new 1,000-acre, $45 million airport is attractive to industry. In addition, WellStar is constructing a new hospital and a call center has been built in Cobb County near the Paulding County border, offering new jobs.

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 in Carrollton. He received his bachelor’s degree in economics from UWG and his masters and doctoral degrees in economics from Georgia State University.