In swing states, economies mostly looking up

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http://www.mcclatchydc.com/2012/08/15/162418/in-swing-states-economies-mostly.html

Douglas Hanks | Miami Herald

In a state President Barack Obama needs to win, the incumbent should be pleased by the sales report from Tom Sarach’s staffing firm in southeast Virginia.

“Last year was a record year,” said Sarach, president of Reliance Staffing, which has four offices in the Hampton Roads area. “This year we’re doing even better.”

The growing demand for Sarach’s temporary workers helps explains Virginia’s 5.7 percent unemployment rate, far below the national average of 8.3 percent. Home to a large chunk of the federal bureaucracy, Virginia’s relatively strong labor market helps explain Obama’s narrow lead in Virginia as the national economy recovers at the slowest pace since the 1930s.

“What’s making Obama much more competitive here is the economy,” said University of Virginia political scientist Larry Sabato, the leading political guru in a state seen as a prime battleground in the 2012 election. “If you have economic conditions in Virginia that are this good and he can’t win, how can he win elsewhere?”