St. Tammany’s economy teeters between positive and negative factors with new employment and businesses rising, but homes sales and building permits dipping slightly, a new report shows.

But “Economic Trends,” the quarterly report from the St. Tammany Economic Development Foundation, shows an overall stable economy, according to Brenda Reine-Bertus, the report’s author and executive director of the EDF.

“Although retail sales lagged, most components of the composite index of economic indicators are positive for St. Tammany Parish,” Reine-Bertus said. “Although economic growth overall has been a modest .4 percent, positive movement is evident, and St. Tammany is well positioned relative to many other communities in Louisiana and the region.” The number of employed workers in the parish grew 2.3 percent over the same quarter in 2007, while the number of persons in the workforce grew 2.2 percent. St. Tammany’s unemployment rate is 3.1 percent, well below the state and national unemployment rates of 3.8 and 5.3 percent, respectively.

New business starts in the second quarter of 2008 were 10.3 percent higher than same quarter a year ago, as 591 new businesses opened. Month-by-month, April’s new business starts were more than 65 percent higher than April 2007, and June’s starts were more than 33 percent higher than June 2007.

More than $32 million in new projects were announced in 2008’s second quarter, up more than 400 percent over the same quarter in 2007, the report says.

Building permits for single-family homes fell 32.3 percent over the same quarter in 2007, a move consistent with national trends, according to the report.

Commercial building permits, however, increased 4.4 percent, foretelling a continued expansion of job opportunities locally.

Home sales dipped 17.6 percent over the second quarter of 2007 with sale prices of those homes skidding 4.7 percent, continuing the market correction from the post-Katrina boom.

Retail sales also fell 7 percent over the second quarter of 2007, in part a reaction to higher fuel costs and a change in consumer decision-making and prioritization of discretionary spending.