Better times ahead: North Carolina's economy is expected to record temperate growth this year as it continues to recover from its recession hangover.

• Position: ECONOMIC FORECAST ROUND TABLE - Interview

An interesting stage has been set far North Carolina this year The state is still climbing out of recession, and a fiercely contested election in November put new faces with new ideas in Raleigh and Washington, D.C. So what's in store for the Tar Heel economy? A panel of experts recently gathered to share their predictions for the year Participating were Randy Brodd, partner-in-charge of Charlotte-based Dixon Hughes Goodman LLP's eastern North Carolina practice, which includes offices in Raleigh, Greenville and Southern Pines; Dan Gerlach, president of Rocky Mount-based Golden LEAF Foundation; Brooks Raiford, president and CEO of the Raleigh-based North Carolina Technology Association; Michael Walden, professor and extension economist at N. C. State University; and Patrice Willetts, president of the Greensboro-based North Carolina Association of Realtors. The round table was hosted and sponsored by NC. State University's Jenkins MBA Program at the Poole College of Management, with additional support from Dixon Hughes Goodman and the state Realtors association, BUSINESS NORTH CAROLINA Publisher Ben Kinney and Special Projects Editor Peter Anderson moderated the discussion. The following transcript has been edited for brevity and clarity.

What are some economic trends to expect this Year?

Walden: If you look at recoveries from previous recessions, it takes North Carolina some time to get going. After the 2001 recession, the state really accelerated in year three. That's when job growth started to outperform the nation. Since the job market bottomed out in 2010, the state's workforce has grown 3% while the nation's has increased 3.5%. The state is entering year four, so expect employment to pick up steam. I'm pointing to 68,000 net, new nonfarm jobs, compared with 40,000 in 2011. Of course, the growth is not going to be evenly spread across the state. The metro areas will see better numbers than rural areas, which has been a long-term issue. Charlotte is really coming on now, and the Raleigh-Cary metro area is back to its pre-recessionary jobs level. The loss of construction jobs hit North Carolina harder than it did the nation. We've not seen a big recovery there, so I'm looking for those jobs to start to come back. Real estate here suffered more than the nation, not because of a larger price depreciation but because the state had a large real-estate sector. That meant a bigger chunk of the economy was affected.

Willetts: There was a large inventory of real estate that needed time to be absorbed. Mix that with homeowners trying to sell their properties despite being underwater on their mortgages, and prices depreciated and building stopped. Listings are starting to see multiple offers, which has been rare the past three years. Now if a property is priced right, clients need to make their best offer because the property will sell. I think that's a positive sign. Investors rule the market right now. I worked...