THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Monday, February 26, 1996 TAG: 9602240235
SECTION: BUSINESS WEEKLY PAGE: 04 EDITION: FINAL
COLUMN: Talk of the Town
LENGTH: Medium: 56 lines
Hampton Roads' labor market has become legendary. There's a huge pool of workers. Count on 10 applicants for every job opening.
With military personnel constantly moving to Tidewater, it's said the military families, especially the spouses, contribute to the labor surplus.
New figures from Norfolk Naval TALK OF THE TOWN
Base, however, suggest the trailing spouse syndrome has continued although fewer Navy personnel are in Hampton Roads.
Take 1993, when the base closing commission was getting down to serious work. The Navy counted 129 ships based in Tidewater, 108,000 active duty personnel, and 125,000 family members.
By October '95, the commission had spared the big bases in Tidewater. There were 131 ships, but personnel numbers had dropped to 96,600 officers and sailors.
Meanwhile, the number of military family members increased to 128,000, while the Navy's civilian labor force declined by 4,500 to 33,000.
What also increased were retirees and survivors - to 30,000 last fall from 26,000 in '93.
Incidentally, the number of military families in private housing dropped - from 27,000 in '93 to 22,500 in '95 - while the number in rentals increased by 1,000 to 23,200.
The bottom line: Navy personnel, family members, and civilian workers in Hampton Roads numbered 322,000 last fall, down from 323,700 in '93.
Despite the reduction, Tidewater businesses created 26,000 jobs in the last two years, blunting the economic impact of the drawdown.
Shoppe sprawl: Retail growth continues near Williamsburg. Berkeley Commons, Williamsburg Outlet Mall and Williamsburg Pottery already sit astride the one-mile stretch of Richmond Road where the Governor's Shoppes soon will appear.
The James City County Planning Commission last week OKd plans for the 274,000-square-foot shopping center on 53 acres. ``We're looking at bringing in three or four larger anchors, supported by several smaller stores,'' said the president of Cap Care Group Inc. of High Point, N.C.
Sorry, Doug: Among those who successfully completed the most recent accountancy exam in Virginia was Douglas N. Mann of Virginia Beach. We mistakenly omitted him from our list last week.
Fertile ground: The House of Representatives hasn't passed it, President Clinton hasn't signed it and substantial changes might occur when the House comes back into session today. We're talking about the farm bill.
The biggest agricultural issue facing the House is whether there will be separate votes on the sugar, peanut and dairy programs which consumer activists say raise food prices - in the case of peanut butter, 33 cents for an 18-ounce jar. by CNB