The study was prepared by researchers at California State University Fullerton's Institute for Economic and Environmental Studies. "There doesn't appear to be any signs of a recession … [though] the U.S. economy would appear to be slowing down at a faster rate than California," says Adrian Fleissig, a CSUF analyst.

The school's Southern California Index, published quarterly, was developed several years ago to gauge the five-county Southland area's economic health and compare it to the rest of the nation. While the Southern California Index rose a solid 0.56% in the second quarter, the school's US index rose a mere 0.03%.

The index looks at seven key economic indicators. Five of the seven for Southern California rose in the latest quarter, Fleissig says, led by a sharp increase in the number of building permits taken out by residential and commercial developers.