The Alabama economy has undergone a dramatic shift during the past 20 years or so.
Gone are large portions of the textile, apparel and steel industries. Gone, too, however, are the days of high unemployment rates that Alabama suffered in the 1970s and '80s.
Today, Alabama's unemployment rate is lower than the national average. The Huntsville Metropolitan Area has the lowest unemployment rate (3 percent) in the state.
In 1990, manufacturing represented 22 percent of employment by sector for Alabamians. By 2010, that number is projected to be just 14 percent. Meanwhile, the service sector is projected to account for 36 percent of Alabama jobs by 2010, up from 22 percent in 1990.
The loss of some of those manufacturing jobs, of course, has been painful for workers who lost employment. While Dr. Carl E. Ferguson laments that fact, he doesn't lament Alabama trading low-wage, low-skilled jobs for high-wage, high-skilled and high-value added industry. As the textile industry has disappeared, the automobile industry has found a new home in Alabama. Ferguson calls that a value-added manufacturing industry - where it obviously takes more skill and higher wages to make an automobile than it does a night shirt.
"We don't want to be competing with countries around the world that hire away jobs because they are low-skill and low-wage jobs," said Ferguson, professor emeritus at the University of Alabama's Center for Business and Economic Research.
"The reason we see the contraction in manufacturing in terms of total output is because we've traded away those jobs. These are the shifts that are occurring in Alabama that have ultimately made our state one of the true bright spots in the U.S. economy.''
Ferguson, who was the guest speaker last week at the Huntsville Rotary Club's weekly meeting, said our city has set the gold standard for the rest of the state to follow.
He said Huntsville has always understood its potential. He pointed to statistics such as the level of income, the level of employment, and the percentage of those with college degrees and higher.
"When you compare it to any community within the state, Huntsville, on virtually every major statistic, comes on top," Ferguson said. "There are certain areas that rival Huntsville in some categories, but when you look across the board, nobody comes close to Huntsville."
I asked him what has led to the city's success. He started by talking about the willingness of public and business leaders to work together.
"Huntsville more than any other community in this state realizes that it's economic future is dependent on a vibrant private sector and a public sector that is prepared to do everything it can do to provide the essential infrastructure needs,'' Ferguson said after the meeting.
"What government does is manage the construction that businesses depend on. Businesses can't afford it but, to be successful, they have to have those things. What Huntsville has done almost as well as it can be done, is recognize that the public and private sectors are in an intense partnership with one another. One without the other cannot achieve what they both desire, which is a strong economy.''
Ferguson points out another key factor - strong leadership.
"It is clearly not just the public leaders or just the business and industry leaders, it's the fact that they are able and willing to work together," he said. "They recognize their dependence on one another to maximize the potential of the area."
Ferguson said he believes one reason why Huntsville gained from the BRAC moves is because the leaders and planners that helped make those decisions "really understood that Huntsville is getting it right."
For Huntsville - and all of Alabama - to continue its growth pattern during the next 10 to 15 years, Ferguson said the educational infrastructure must be in place to train new workers. Some industries are facing labor shortages.
There must be a willingness to invest in education, something Huntsville has done.
"Educational expenditures are investments not only for our success, but for the success of our children and grandchildren," Ferguson said. "We need to be sure that we set our aspirations well above average.
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