Caswell County An Economic Reality Check November 2
Caswell County: An Economic Reality Check November 2, 2009 Jason Jolley Senior Research Director, UNC Center for Competitive Economies (C 3 E) Adjunct Assistant Professor, Kenan-Flagler Business School 1
About Us CENTER FOR COMPETITIVE ECONOMIES (C 3 E) is an economic development research center in UNC's Kenan Institute of Private Enterprise and Kenan-Flagler Business School. The Carolina Center for Competitive Kenan Institute for Private En
The Carolina Center for Competitive Kenan Institute for Private En
Purpose Share “data driven” observations of Caswell County’s local economy. Ø Wage and Income data Ø Employment data Ø Integration with Regional Economy The Carolina Center for Competitive Kenan Institute for Private En
Observations about Caswell County’s Economy l l Part of two regional economies: Piedmont Triad and Danville, VA. Capitalize on economic growth and positive trends in both regions. § Institute for Advanced Learning and Research in Danville § Aerospace and other industry clusters in Triad
Observations about Caswell County’s Economy l l Caswell County jobs are characterized by low-wage structure. Limited private sector employment growth over the past two decades.
ed m Pi on t ia d Tr ip er sh nt y ou C ty ou n C nt y ou C nt y C ou rtn Pa m ng ha ki oc R n rs o Pe ng e ra O rd lfo ui ty ou n C 7 0 26 $3 2 2 83 $3 3 1 57 $3 0 3 17 $4 9 1 58 $3 3 2 51 $3 $45 000, 00 G an ce am 4 28 7 $35 000, 00 $2 $40 000, 00 Al ty ou n l. C el w as C Average Annual Wage, 2008 $30 000, 00 $25 000, 00 $20 000, 00 $15 000, 00 $10 000, 00 $5 000, 00 $0, 00
Low Wage Structure for Existing Industries Arts, Entertainment, & Recreation Health Care Prof. & Tech. Serv. Finance and Insurance Transportation/Warehous e Information Retail Trade Wholesale Trade Manufacturing Construction Agriculture/Forestry Caswell/NC Annual Wage Variance, 2008 Total Private Industry $5 000, 00 $0, 00 ($5 000, 00) ($10 000, 00) ($15 000, 00) ($20 000, 00) ($25 000, 00) ($30 000, 00) ($35 000, 00) ($40 000, 00) Source: 2008 annual wage calculated from average weekly wage from NC ESC for each industry grouping.
Y-1990 Y-2008 s os th er O y lit . . Se rv pi ta lth ea H e/ H ur Le is n/ uc at io es iti g n s ie til it tiv Ac U in es us /B al ci na n na l io Ed ss of e Fi d an tu rin uf ac an M n or ta tio sp an Tr ru ct io st 104 66 69 166 202 361 78 77 41 77 297 323 353 136 223 741 1 000 Pr e ad Tr 10 76 500 on s rc e ou es R us try In d 1678 1722 2 000 C al at ur N e at riv l. P ta To Private Sector Employment: 1990 & 2008 1 500 0
Observations about Caswell County’s Economy l l l Low wage rates in County are deceptive as few residents actually work in the County. Residents must leave the County to find employment. § (2 nd highest out-commute rate in state) Residents working in other Counties earn considerably higher wages in
Percent of Workers Commuting Outside County of Residence, 2000 72, 84% 80, 00% 70, 00% 60, 00% 50, 00% 42, 40% 41, 84% 38, 70% 40, 00% 25, 62% 25, 06% 30, 00% 20, 00% 12, 17% 10, 00% Pi tts yl va ni a R C oc ki ou n ty , ng ha VA m ng e O ra n rs o Pe rd lfo ui G am Al C as w el an ce l 0, 00% Source: 2000 US Census Bureau.
Mean Commute Time to Work in Minutes, 2000 35 30, 2 28, 9 30 24, 4 25 21, 8 21, 5 Alamance Guilford 26, 2 21, 6 20 15 10 5 0 Caswell Source: 2000 US Census Bureau. Person Orange Rockingham Pittsylvania County, VA
Where Caswell Residents Work, 2000 Other, 1 742, 18% Guilford, 800, 8% Rockingham, 844, 9% Source: 2000 US Census Bureau. Danville (VA), 1 450, 15% Caswell, 2 693, 27% Alamance, 2 388, 24%
Caswell County Commuter Wage Differences in Manufacturing $24, 037 annual salary (395 employment) (1, 170) (250) (770) (450) (# employed) Source: Bureau of Economic Analysis: Regional Economic Accounts, 2000
Caswell County Commuter Wage Differences in Services $17, 101 annual salary (490 employment) (520) (# employed) Source: Bureau of Economic Analysis: Regional Economic Accounts, 2000
Observations about Caswell County’s Economy l l Caswell County is a labor source for the surrounding regional economies. Yet, Caswell County is not well integrated and is receiving limited economic benefit from regional economic activity. Caswell is not well represented by business concentrations identified as regional economic development priorities.
Institute for Advanced Learning and Research Center Focus Areas l Polymers l Performance engineering and motorsports l High-value crops in horticulture and forestry l Unmanned systems and robotics
Triad Economic Focus Areas Piedmont Triad Partnership Industry Clusters Ø Advanced Manufacturing Ø Creative Enterprises and the Arts Ø Health Care Ø Logistics and Distribution
Transportation, Distribution, Logistics (TDL) Cluster Company Population Distribution, 2006 • 9, 676 companies in the Greensboro/Winston-Salem/High Point MSAs tracked by the UNC Center for Competitive Economies • At least 319 different companies operate entirely or significantly within the TDL Cluster
TDL Cluster Company Population Distribution
How should Caswell address these regional economic issues? l l There are no economic “miracles, ” but incremental improvements can be made to help the local economy through strategic planning efforts in economic development. Examine economic development delivery mechanism to carry out these steps.
Possible steps l Caswell is still in a good position to capitalize on growth in surrounding regions. § Improve downtown areas, improve/extend infrastructure to commercial/industrial areas. § Focus on quality of life elements retail development, downtown improvements, activities such as
Possible steps l l l Identify competitive advantages and assets attractive to companies in regional industry clusters or economic focus areas in Piedmont Triad and Danville. § For example: link to creative enterprises Identify local industry clusters for targeted recruitment and entrepreneurship activities. Identify occupational skill set of County residents commuting to other counties to work. A source of labor for prospective companies.
Possible steps l l Higher income retirees § Clients for health/managed care cluster activities § Source of buying power to support local retailers With proper infrastructure—cost advantage for companies needing access to core regional cluster businesses, but can locate on the periphery of region
Community’s Goals l l l What are the community’s goals? What type of jobs would residents like to see? What should be preserved?
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