THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, April 18, 1996 TAG: 9604180387
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: D1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY MYLENE MANGALINDAN, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Medium: 75 lines
Hampton Roads' job mix is dragging it down.
Stagnant or slow-growing industries like ship repair and transportation have dominated the local job scene over the past decade while faster-growing sectors like retail, technology and financial services have only recently proliferated locally, according to a new study of the region's competitiveness released Wednesday.
Compared to its top 15 competitor metropolitan areas in the Southeast, Hampton Roads ranks near the bottom in job growth. Hampton Roads surpassed only Memphis, Richmond, Roanoke and Baltimore from 1983-1993, said John W. Whaley, director of economic services at the Hampton Roads Planning District Commission.
``We've had a fairly poor mix of industries here in Hampton Roads,'' said Whaley, the report's author. The region could have added 30,000 or more new jobs if it had a combination of fast- and slow-growing industries as favorable as the nation's, he said. But Hampton Roads has sported a combination of slower-than-average growing industries, pushing it behind most urban areas in the Southeast and Rocky Mountain regions.
Data for the study came from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. It is not clear whether the agency included the impact of the military on the local economy in its figures. Therefore, all the calculations may be understated by about 5 percent, Whaley said. But the effect is minimal because other similar economic factors may be present in competitor communities, making little difference in their comparison to Hampton Roads.
Either way, the news isn't all bad. The region's job creation in its dominant industries has bolstered its competitiveness compared to other urban areas. Hampton Roads' existing industries have grown faster than comparable sectors nationally, Whaley said.
For instance, in 1970, the local economy grew about 1.7 percent. By 1993, it had a 2.6 percent growth rate, he said.
Some of that growth might be attributed to the region's growing reliance on more stable industries, like retail and services. Hampton Roads is also less dependent on volatile industries like construction and manufacturing.
The region's job creation has also counterbalanced its negative job mix.
Hampton Roads' jobs numbers stack up well against areas outside the Southeast. Growth in the region's existing job base pushes it ahead of metropolitan areas in the Southwest, the West Coast, the Midwest and New England.
Together, job growth and the growth of existing industries determine how fast a region grows.
Regions with a diverse job mix grow faster, have lower unemployment and higher per capita income than those without it, Whaley said. The same goes for a metropolitan area that boasts employment growth higher than the national average in its biggest sectors of the local economy.
Eleven other Southeastern metropolitan areas surpassed Hampton Roads. They were Orlando, Fla.; Raleigh; Charlotte; Atlanta; Nashville, Tenn.; Jacksonville, Fla.; Tampa, Fla.; Greenville, S.C.; Greensboro; Charleston, W. Va.; and Columbia, S.C.
When compared to neighboring states' metropolitan areas as a whole, the region was more competitive than only Maryland. Hampton Roads lagged behind urban areas in South Carolina, North Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Tennessee and other parts of Virginia.
Evidence of recent stagnation in local economic activity also materialized Wednesday in the form of the Hampton Roads Economic Performance Index.
There was little change in the Hampton Roads' economic activity in February, a stark contrast to the nation's and state's strong job gains, according to David Garraty, a Virginia Wesleyan College professor who administers the index. The index remained the same as January.
KEYWORDS: ECONOMY JOBS EMPLOYMENT by CNB