Will metro slip into double dip?

• Position: Eastern

The economy looks a little better than it did a year ago, and most metro areas in North Carolina are on the road to recovery. Jacksonville, home of the Camp Lejeune Marine base, is even in expansion mode, according to Moody's Economy.com, part of New York-based Moody's Corp. But the outlook isn't so sunny in the Wilmington metro, which includes New Hanover, Brunswick and Pender counties.

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Moody's says it's one of just 22 U.S. metros at risk of double-dipping back into recession--and the only one in North Carolina. What makes it vulnerable is overreliance on construction, tourism and service-based jobs, according to Moody's economist Jimmy Jean. "So much of the area's job market is dependent on construction and the second-home market. The [national] first-home market is not doing well, so the second-home market is definitely not doing well."

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Part of his point is conceded by Connie Majure-Rhett, executive director of the Greater Wilmington Chamber of Commerce. "We know we have been very dependent on our real estate in our economy, and when it's good, it's very, very good." Indeed, the annual number of single-family homes sold almost doubled between 2002 and 2005, when it peaked at 9,347, according to the...