The Central City Association presented its annual downtown economic forecast on Tuesday with a mostly rosy prediction for 2007.

While the loss of manufacturing jobs and transportation issues will likely hamper downtown’s continued revival, a low unemployment rate and a strong regional economy bode well for the area this year, said Jack Kyser, chief economist of the Los Angeles County Economic Development Corporation.

Kyser addressed a crowd of 220 people at the Millennium Biltmore Hotel on behalf of the Central City Association, a business advocacy organization for downtown.

“There is a lot of momentum in this economy,” Kyser said.

Carol Schatz, chief executive of the Central City Association, also spoke briefly, noting that this year her group would focus on combating the city’s living wage ordinance and working on policy for smart growth development in the downtown area.

“We want to initiate policy to increase development in the right places commercial and transportation corridors,” Schatz said.