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Economic news is mixed bag; earnings up, businesses not hiring By Pamela Brust News&Sentinel.com The Online Edition of The Parkersburg News and The Parkersburg Sentinel
August 21, 2003
PARKERSBURG - Wood County development officials, community and business leaders and local educators gathered Wednesday to hear suggestions for strengthening community development and strategies to aid small business and affordable housing.
The community development workshop was offered by the Community Affairs Office of the Richmond Federal Reserve Bank and offered a demographic look at the region, compared with the rest of the state and nation, and a community profile that included interviews with local government, business, development and directors of nonprofit organizations.
"This brings some of these issues to the forefront so we can address them and start putting together a plan of action then implement that plan to correct problems or to enhance the positives. With what they have presented, the picture is not necessarily bad, but it's not necessarily good either. We have opportunities both ways," said James Kinnett, president and chief executive officer of the Wood County Area Roundtable. The roundtable is the umbrella organization for local development groups.
On the good news side, Ray Owens, vice president and senior economist at the Richmond Fed, said there has been a positive upturn recently in economic news. The bad news is 3 million jobs nationally have been lost, all in manufacturing, since employment peaked in 2001. The workforce is spending money and earning higher wages, but businesses are not hiring more workers and are not making capital investments, Owens said.
"But the day will come when factories will have to start buying new equipment and have to hire more workers," Owens said.
Over the last 20-25 years West Virginia's economic growth has lagged behind the rest of the country, and this state's unemployment rates have been higher than the national average, but recently those rates are converging, the economist said.
Owens said jobs in the service industry are growing nationally and statewide, are lower wage jobs here, but add stability to the economy. The number of building permits in West Virginia is on par with the nation, with a surge in the 1990s, he said.
Many of the manufacturing jobs are going overseas where they can hire cheaper foreign labor, Owens said.
"We are truly in a worldwide economy in what we produce and what we buy," he said.
He told those attending the seminar Wednesday that West Virginia has a higher proportion of employment in government, education and health services compared to the rest of the U.S.
Fred Rader, community development director with the Mid-Ohio Valley Regional Council, said Wood County has seen minimal population growth, and population for this area is aging, with the largest segment between the ages of 40-49. The largest population pyramid in a growing area should be in the 10-and-under category. Wood County has exceeded the state average median age, and West Virginia has the highest median age in the country, Rader said.
U.S. census data show an outmigration of around 10,000 people in the area in the 1980s, which was slightly offset by births. Rader noted there is a trend toward the younger population leaving the area.
Wood County's minority population is around three percent compared to the national average of 25 percent, Rader said.
As part of the community profile, local leaders were interviewed and asked about problems they see in the area.
Parkersburg Mayor Jimmy Colombo said one of the problems is attitude. "People like to see something nice, but they don't always want to do the work to make it happen," he said.
Kinnett noted there is limited access to funding for development.
"Most projects require county investments; we have very few independent investors who can step to the forefront and so we have to look at other resources, like federal, state and local governments, which really restricts what we can do in developing sites, and impacts future growth.
"Another problem is developing a good work ethic. This needs to be done through the schools at an early age. We have to let them know they aren't going to just be given a job; they have to earn it," he said.
Federal Reserve Bank officials offered references to small business and other centers, Internet sites and contacts where local development officials can obtain help, suggestions and links to resources.
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